CCS Adventures
by sakuramae
Summary: CCS gang, other anime characters, the Greek gods, two powerful sorcerers, and the prophesied destruction of the world. Mix them all up and what do you get? Don't ask me! Find out and RR the story!
1. Default Chapter

Prologue 

~Just the small beginnings of this story. All of the characters belong to their respectful owners, none of them belong to me here, so, don't sue or flame me. Now, get on with the story.

Beings of power stood watching the glowing entity in the middle of their circle. One of the beings stepped up and lifted up its hands. "We, as gods and goddesses of Olympus, make our power known throughout the lands. Obey our command. It is just as my father prophesied, but we will stop it immediately. O, great sorcerers of the dead, I, Athena, bid you to join us and rise out of the ashes."

While the figure was saying this, four other people were watching from a distance. The first one, purple eyes serious, said, "The trouble is not in our hands this time. We must leave it be, unless it goes out of control. Give those that are chosen a chance to show their power and potential."

The other three nodded in agreement and they left the gathering. The figures gathered around the middle being and started to chant:

_Sorcerers from the world below  
Upon us your powers bestow,  
Rise from your thrones in Hades' world   
To complete your missions above earth. _

_By the powers of Wind,   
Water, Earth, Flame.   
Come, we summon you,   
We are the gods by name! _

As the central figure thrust her staff into the entity, two beings rose up. They were both in dark robes made from the Underworld. The first figure walked up. "We have heard your call, Athena, but what is the problem?"

"Come, you will know very soon," the goddess replied, breaking the circle. One by one, the figures vanished from sight and the area they worked on seemed untouched.


	2. High School Entry

*NOTE: Okay, for those of you who are wondering, who these people are and where they came from, let me take a moment to tell you:*  
Duo, Heero, Quatre - Gundam Wing  
Quistis - Final Fantasy 8 (this is a game)  
Lilka - Wild Arms 2 (also a game)  
Thom - Alanna: First Adventure (this is a book, and Thom is a great sorcerer if you didn't know yet)  
Kenshin - Rurouni Kenshin  
Last but not least: Outer Senshi - Sailor Moon

So, if you were wondering who these other characters were, and what the heck they were doing in a Cardcaptor Sakura fanfiction, now you know. On with the story!

High School Entry 

The young man sighed, perplexed at the equation he saw as he peeked in the math room. "Boy, I should have stayed at home, instead of coming here as a transfer student."

"You're funny!" the girl beside him said, "You came here so you could learn from one of the best schools. And I know for a fact that Japan has one of the best schools in the world."

"Yeah, right," the transfer student said, "You're not complaining because you're good in math, that's why."

The girl, about 17, laughed. "Oh, I'm sure you can find a person that can tutor you in math."

"Some person," the girl's partner grumbled.

Together, the two new students entered their math classroom. The girl sat in front of the room, while her friend walked to the back seats. There he met a boy about his age with amber eyes. "Excuse me, but you seem to have taken my seat," the transfer student said.

The boy looked at him and stood up. He moved one chair up and sat back down. The transfer student then shrugged and ran a hand through his brown hair. "So much for making friends. People here are hostile."

Just then, two girls appeared in the doorway. One was a brunette with laughing green eyes. She looked around and spotted the girl transfer student. She waved at her and laughed. "Tomoyo-chan! I've been looking for you! Come and sit with us!"

Tomoyo smiled at her best friend's response to her coming back to Japan. She approached the two girls and plopped herself down the seat beside her best friend. She looked at the other girl who was sitting with Sakura. The young girl had blonde hair tied up. She didn't seem to care if a couple of guys were staring at her. It was as if she was confident in herself. Tomoyo held a hand up at her, "I'm Daidouji Tomoyo, and I just transferred into this school. How are you?"

"Quistis Trepe," the girl said with an American accent. "I'm also a junior. I understand that you're Sakura's best friend. Where have you been schooling ever since you left Japan?"

Tomoyo sighed and looked at her friend. He was gaping at her as if he was looking at her for the first time. Tomoyo grinned, knowing what he was thinking. "I went to America, since my father told me that they appreciated great singers there."

Sakura smiled, "Well, at least everyone is here."

The amber eyed student looked at them and smiled slightly. Sakura waved at him and he waved back. The male transfer student sighed with frustration. _Am I the only one who doesn't know anyone here?_ He thought. When he looked up, he saw Tomoyo walking up to him.

"Why don't you join us over there?" Tomoyo asked, "Maybe Quistis can help you with your math."

"I'm not going to sit with all you girls," the brown haired student said. "I'd rather sit here at the back where the math teacher can't see me and where I am hardly noticeable."

Tomoyo looked at him, smiling mischievously, "But I thought that you like being the center of attention. You liked being the center of attention in America."

"That was because…" he stopped, not being able to think of any reason why he wanted to sit at the back. He glared at Tomoyo and looked away.

Tomoyo shrugged. She looked up to find the amber eyed student looking at her, and she smiled. "Syaoran-kun, can you help a fellow transfer student fit in? He really needs help in math, and I know pretty well that you are a wiz in the subject. So, can you come over here?"

"Whatever you say," the guy called Syaoran said, "I warn him in advance, I am not very patient."

The brown haired student shrugged and stood up. "Suit yourself," he said. He sat himself beside Syaoran and nodded his head. "The name's Duo. Duo Maxwell."

Syaoran stared back at Duo. "My name is Li. You must be American, with the accent and all."

With that, Tomoyo left the two guys in conversation and went back to her friends. Sakura looked at Li and Duo. She shook her head. "That friendship won't last long, I can tell. Li-kun can't take someone that might be as good as him in sports. And I can tell that your friend is the sporty type."

"Say, I wonder if they're going to start fencing lessons this year," Quistis spoke up, looking up her schedule. "I see that they kept the gymnastics class. Think you'll try out again, Sakura?"

"Why not?" Sakura said, "I only want a rival as good as Meiling-san. Otherwise, taking gymnastics just won't be the same without her."

"Don't worry, Sakura-san," Tomoyo said, reassuring her, "I'm sure some girl will come up."

The door of the classroom opened, and in came the math teacher. She had long, black hair with a little hint of green in them. The teacher introduced herself as Ms. Meiou Setsuna. Her red eyes looked around the classroom and she smiled. "Hello, junior class, nice to meet you. I'm sure some of you will have a very unusual year, regarding we have a great amount of transfer students this year."

Sakura and Tomoyo looked at each other and grinned. Looks like junior year will be a very fun time.

Two male junior students stepped up in front of Mugen Gakuen High School school. One of them had his hands over his chest and the other was looking at the school's schedule. "Look," the second boy said, "Our classes don't start until 9:30 am. We're not late after all!"

"Why shouldn't we be?" the first male said, fixing his tie. "Am I not punctual enough for your taste, Quatre?"

"It's not that, Heero," Quatre said, "I don't want to make a bad impression on my first day of junior class in this high class school. I heard that they turn you into a great student here. Check the famous violinist Kaiou Michiru for example. And her partner pianist, who is also a great racer, Tenou Haruka. I even heard that the fashion designer Meiou Setsuna will be teaching us math in Mugen Gakuen."

Heero rolled his eyes, "Great job for getting us a nice looking school, and doing all that research. If I weren't such a great computer hacker, I wouldn't be able to afford this school at all."

"Whatever you say, Heero," the blonde said, "Anyway, let's go in and see what the inside of this school is like."

As they went inside, Quatre whistled. "Something I wouldn't see in a hotel or a school. The founders here must have been really rich to have produced this place. I hope the students here aren't what I think they are."

"Yeah," Heero agreed, blankly, "Or else there might be another Releana Peacecraft. And that is the reason why I came with you as a transfer student."

Quatre laughed and examined the fountain found on the middle of the hallway. He also explored the doorways and decided to bring Heero with him. "That must be our lab, and that must be the music room. I hear they have horseback riding lessons in the afternoon. And the school even promised to start some fencing classes in the morning."

"Hooray," Heero said sarcastically. "I'm sure we will never get bored. I should have gone with Duo and see what place he has applied himself to. Maybe it isn't as classy as this school, but it probably is better than all this."

"You're only sulking, because we have to wear these uniforms instead of regular clothes," Quatre pointed out.

"Whatever," Heero mumbled.

The school bells rang, and students came filing out of their classrooms. One of them was a girl with shoulders slumped. She seemed to be in a bad mood. The girl bumped into Heero and glared at him. "Watch it! I'm in a hurry, so excuse me!"

"I'm sorry for my friend's mistake," Quatre said, apologizing, "Best get going to our classes, Heero."

"I didn't do anything," Heero protested walking briskly towards their lab class. "She didn't see me walking in front of her."

Quatre shook his head, "The matter's over now, just leave it be."

The two boys went in the room and found the science teacher talking to a student. The student had chestnut brown hair and amber eyes. They were deep in conversation that the two people didn't see Quatre and Heero slip inside the room and choose a seat. As the second bell rang, students came filing in the classroom and the chestnut haired boy sat in the front row.

The teacher smiled and his purple eyes sparkled. "As you well know, this is our lab class. Now today, since this is the first day of junior year, I've wanted to see where your talent starts and where it ends. So there will be no lesson today, just a quick mini test. I'll provide you some paper and writing materials in a second. Just let me do a roll call…"

As the names passed, the teacher nodded. "Well…not one person absent today. It must be because it's the first day back, eh? Well, now for the test. When you get the test, don't be afraid to begin."

The teacher snapped his fingers and a bunch of papers landed on each of the students' desks. Pens also landed after a few seconds. Many people were a bit surprised at what they saw, including Heero and Quatre. However, the amber eyed student raised his eyebrows and looked at the test. He took the pen that just landed and began to write. Heero shook his head and also began the test, as well did Quatre. The test contained questions that asked about the students' experiences of dissecting, chemicals, physics, geology, and magic.

Quatre looked at the magic section, puzzled. _Magic? What am I supposed to know about magic?_ He thought. He glanced at Heero, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. Quatre glanced back at his own paper and shrugged. _Oh well, might as well make the most of it._

Heero, after puzzling over the magic section, glanced up to see that the amber eyed student already had the page turned to the magic section. Pencil moving, the student wrote the answers to the questions asked. Heero thought it strange that someone would actually know something about that section.

Some students sighed and groaned. The teacher grinned and said calmly, "Don't worry about the magic section. If you have no idea what that whole thing is about, just skip it. It doesn't concern you. Otherwise, if you do, then answer as much as you can."

After the test, the teacher snapped his fingers and all the materials disappeared. "I'll be grading those tests as soon as possible. Expect to get your grades at the end of your next period. I will be giving the scores to the teacher that has you for the period after. If you failed, I can assure you that after you take my class, you won't ever again. Class dismissed."

The amber eyed student stood up first and walked out the door. Heero and Quatre followed, not dazed, but a little surprised. The other students then woke up from their daze and followed suite. As Heero and Quatre turned the corner, they met the amber eyed student face to face.

"You must be new here, too," he said, "I haven't seen you guys here last year."

Quatre cleared his throat. "Yeah, we just moved here. This place seemed to be a good school and our teachers recommended this school for us."

Heero stared at Quatre, thinking about the "teachers" who recommended it for them. The boy nodded. "Did you come from America, too?"

"No, we actually just came from Europe," Quatre answered, "But we have a friend in America, why?"

The boy shrugged, "Oh, nothing. It was just that another transfer student arrived. He came from America. He seems to be bad in math, though."

"I don't believe you introduced me to them, Li-kun," an auburn haired girl said, bobbing up to them. "Who are these people?"

"Oh…um…" Li stammered, forgetting to ask the two students' names.

"Quatre," the blonde said, "And my friend over here is Heero. Nice to meet you."

The girl smiled, her green eyes dancing, "Kinomoto Sakura, at your service. So, tell me, how was the science teacher? I had him two periods ago, and I thought he was strange. Only because he displayed a great amount of magic. Otherwise, he seemed nice."

Li frowned at her and turned to Quatre. "I'm Syaoran Li, if you're wondering. Don't mind Sakura-san, she is rather talkative today, with her best friend coming back to Japan. If you would excuse me, I have to go to music classes." With that, Syaoran walked away, leaving Sakura with Heero and Quatre.

"What kind of instrument does he play?" Quatre inquired.

"Oh, Syaoran-kun plays the flute, like I do, but he's kind of better than I am," Sakura answered, "So, what class do you have next?"

Heero, finally looking up his schedule, answered the bright girl. "I'm going to be taking math now. How about you, Quatre?"

"I have Japanese History," Quatre said, looking disgusted, "Great, a subject that will never stick to my head. I'll be seeing you in lunch, then, Heero."

"That's good!" Sakura piped up, "I have Japanese History too!"

Quatre smiled, charmed by the girl's bright personality. "Good, maybe you can help me with this subject."

"I'll try," Sakura said, smiling. Quatre and Sakura then walked away and left Heero standing alone in the hallway.

Heero looked on at the two students walking to Japanese history class. "How nice, Quatre leaves me and doesn't even say good-bye. What a nice friend. Now where is math class?"

The gundam pilot shrugged and walked towards a door leading to his next lesson and held his breath.

"Bored," mumbled Duo. "Nothing but bored."

He was lying down on his desk in English class. Soon after math class, everyone split up to go to their own separate classes. Duo was hoping to have the same classes as Tomoyo, but she had photography class next. He frowned as he remembered his argument. _"But why do you need to take photography lessons? You're already a good designer and talented singer in America!" _

_ Tomoyo sighed, "It's not that, Duo-kun. You see, besides designing, photography is my best aspect. If you had seen me when I was only 10, you would have seen me carry a video camera with me at all times just to record Sakura-san through her…exciting life. Photography is what I live for." _

_ "But why did you have to leave me alone in English class!?!?" Duo cried, exasperated. _

_ Tomoyo grinned, "Maybe then you will learn to cope without someone else to help you." _

As for the others, Sakura said that she had cooking next and Li had science. Even Quistis had a different class. She was taking geography class across the room from math. That left Duo to go to English. Duo shook that memory from his head and paid more attention to the lesson. The English teacher droned on and on for what seemed like hours, until the bell rang. Duo jumped at the sound of the bell and whooped with joy. "Yeah! Alright! I'm out! One more lesson and then lunch!"

He happily ran out of the English classroom and headed to his cooking lessons and saw Quistis walk in. He whooped again. Finally! Someone he knew from the other class! That meant that he could talk and ask her for help!

Quistis spotted Duo at once and waved at him to come over to where she was standing at. Each table contained an oven and frying supplies. The chef looked at the students disgustedly and bellowed in a loud voice. "Alright, weaklings! My name is Mr. Klovinskavia. But you can call me Mr. Klov. I can see that you students will be cooking for me. What a shame! You guys don't look the cooking type. So why did you sign up?"

"Hey!" Duo yelled back. "I'm no weakling, and I don't like being insulted for something you don't even know, pal."

Mr. Klov turned to look at Duo and grinned. "I can see who our mischief maker will be this year. Hello, young man. What might your name be?"

Duo crossed his arms on his chest. "Duo Maxwell. And this is just a warning, Mr. Klov, this outburst won't be the last you hear from me," With that, he stepped back next to Quistis. The blonde glared at him and flushed red when the chef looked at her.

"I could let that pass, little boy," Mr. Klov said, mocking Duo. "Now then, on with the lesson. This semester we will be cooking and cooking until you have mastered and perfected dessert. Yes, dessert. I want you to think of what you might like to make and gather the ingredients by your next cooking lessons. For now, this lesson is gonna be your free time. You can talk now."

As Mr. Klov turned to walk away from Duo and Quistis, the blonde, blue-eyed female glared at Duo. "What are you trying to do? Get us in trouble on our first day of cooking lessons?"

Duo shrugged. "I'm just trying to voice out my opinion. That's what I always do at home."

"But this is not your home, Duo Maxwell!" Quistis cried, outraged. "I know how much you like the freedom you had back there, but remember, we are in different grounds now. Who knows, Mr. Klov might have high connections with the staff in Mugen Gakuen. What might happen if your bad behavior here might rub off on you and the teachers will see you as a notorious American trying to cause trouble!"

"Alright, alright," Duo said, backing down at the angry Quistis. "I'll stop, sheesh. Calm down, it's not as if what I did is a federal offence and that I should be put to jail, you know."

Quistis shook her head, softening. "I'm sorry to holler at you like that, it's just, I want to make a good impression on the teachers on the first day. I don't want them to think I'm a last slob."

"What, are you trying to run for valedictorian or something?" Duo inquired, "It seems so to me."

The blonde student blushed. "Well…actually, I am. It's not as if that's illegal. I have to show people that an American woman can finish first in an exclusive Japanese school. So far, only Syaoran and I are running. But I hear that there's this blonde guy that might stand a chance against Syaoran and me."

Duo laughed. He observed Quistis. She seemed cute when trying to look for words to explain her plans. He decided that he might begin to like her. "Say, did anyone ever tell you how pretty you are when angry?"

"Don't try to flatter me, Duo Maxwell," Quistis said, this time switching her language to English. "See, there are some things I have learned in the U.S., and one of them is self control. Better learn that too, Maxwell."

"Whoa," Duo answered back in English, "Yikes, you're feisty. It looks like it's the end of this period. Great! Lunch! I'm hungry! Let's hurry! I want to eat as much as I can! You don't know how hungry I was ever since that plane flight here."

This time it was Quistis' turn to laugh. "Geez, for one guy with a big mouth, you sure like to eat big too."

The two students entered the lunchroom and they spotted Sakura right away. She seemed to be talking to a blonde, blue-eyed student. Quistis took one look at him and turned to Duo. "I think that's the new rival valedictorian."

Duo's eyes widened. "It can't be! It is! Quatre!"

The blonde boy turned around and saw Duo gaping at him. He raised his eyebrows and yelled out in surprise. "Duo, is that you? What on earth are you doing in a school like this?"

Duo grabbed Quistis by the arm and dragged her towards the table. His eyes sparkled. "Hey, I heard Heero went with you. Where is he?"

Tomoyo glanced at the lunchroom entry and pointed at the brown haired boy just coming in. He looked as if he was searching for someone. He spotted the table in which Quatre was sitting in and walked towards him. As he approached the table, he saw Duo grinning at him. Heero fell to the floor.

"What brought your blasted mind to come here in the first place?" Heero demanded, getting over his momentary shock. "I thought better of you, Duo Maxwell."

Duo blushed, as Quistis noticed. "Well…Tomoyo told me to go with her here. So, I agreed."

Quatre smiled. "So, Duo, doing what the girl wants now, huh? Is Tomoyo your girlfriend?"

Tomoyo laughed aloud. "What's your answer, Duo-kun?" she asked sweetly.

Duo turned purple in color and looked to Quistis for help. Quistis grinned and shook her head. "Guys, so how is the school?"

"Huh?" Heero said, massaging his head after the fall he had taken. "Oh, math was alright. Say, do they have computers here? I'm dying to go on one right now."

Sakura nodded. "Actually, we start computer technology classes in the second semester, but there are computers around the library. If you want, I can have Quistis show you where it is."

Heero looked at the charming young lady and shook his head. "I'll find the library by myself. If I could find the math class, then I could find the library."

CRASH!!! Heero and a girl fell to the floor, trays on their heads. "I'm so sorry," the girl muttered. Heero stood up and helped the girl up. It was the same girl that had bumped into him earlier in the morning. How very coincidental. She brushed herself and frowned. "This _really _isn't my day. Hey, aren't you the guy that bumped into me earlier?"

"Yeah, look," Heero said, helping her pick up the trays. "Maybe your luck might change soon. Just be careful with food. At least you were lucky that you weren't carrying anything in those."

"You're right," the girl replied, lightening. "Look, I have to get lunch now."

"Hey, so do I!" Duo said, remembering why he rejoiced at the thought of lunch. "I'll go with you."

Everyone left the table except Tomoyo and Sakura, who were waiting for someone. Tomoyo looked ahead at Sakura. "Do you want to wait for him? I'll wait with you."

Sakura smiled, "You were always a friend, Tomoyo-san. So, tell me, are you and Duo an item?"

"Well…" Tomoyo said, trying to find the right words. "We met in the United States when I was doing a singing debut in New York. He was the top photographer and he said that he wanted to work with me. Since then, we haven't been separated. Maybe because I can't stand it if he worked alongside someone else. That's why I haven't used a camera for a while, since Duo was always holding it for me."

"Aw…kawaii!" Sakura said, listening intently, then she sighed. Her green eyes spotted a hint of chestnut brown hair and she looked up. Syaoran was standing in front of her, amber eyes boring into hers.

Sakura jumped and hugged Syaoran. "Where were you? Tomoyo-san and I were waiting for you to show up twenty minutes ago!"

"The assistant principal brought me to her office and gave me the second half of my schedule. She told me I had soccer practice after school, and double speech classes on Tuesdays. That was why I took too long," Li answered. He looked at Tomoyo and mouthed a "thank you" to her.

Tomoyo nodded and clapped her hands. "Let's go eat! Everyone else got their food already."

The trio went up to the lunch line. Quatre was coming back, talking to Quistis and carrying his food tray. "I understand what you're saying, but it still has no proof that any of the events you told me ever happened. How can the conclusion be true as well?" Quatre asked, debating a subject with the blonde beauty.

"Actually," Quistis replied, "There were a few questions due to the lack of proofs they had, so they proclaimed the theory half true. All they need to do is get some more research on it, it's like the phenomena of magic that has been uncovered."

"I see," Quatre said, "Do you have any magic?"

Quistis nodded, "I think so, although my magic isn't what you call outrageous. The science teacher told me that it was a case of Blue Magic. He says that my magic only works when a surge of emotion comes over me and I commanded the emotion into power."

"The science teacher," Quatre thought out loud, "I never knew his name. Who is he?"

"Everyone in the school call him Thom," Quistis said, "not one person knows his last name. We might as well leave it alone. He is a mystery to uncover anyway. And with the amount of magic he has, I doubt that we could find out his mysteries."

As they kept talking about other idle stuff, Duo returned, followed by Heero and the girl. Duo was causing the attention that got Heero and the girl staring at him. As Quatre turned around, his mouth opened. "Duo! What are you going to do with all that food?"

Duo's tray was filled with two of everything that was on the cafeteria menu. Quistis covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. Tomoyo laughed, coming back to see the full tray. "He has enough food to feed all of us, it seems."

Sakura and Li returned as well, looking curiously at the commotion that was happening. They looked at Duo's tray and had strange looks on their faces. The decided to sit on the farthest side away from Duo and started to chat with Quatre and Quistis, who also avoided Duo.

"What?" Duo asked, "Why are you all avoiding me? I'm hungry!"

Tomoyo placed her hand on Duo's shoulder. "I think you should sit down and start eating. I warn you, though, don't blame us if you have a stomach ache."

Duo shrugged and sat down. Just as he sat down, he began to gobble up what he had on his tray. The others watched him strangely, then they moved on to their regular conversations. Quistis went back to talking to Quatre about general things. Heero started a conversation with the girl he bumped.

"Why were you such in a bad mood this morning, Lilka?" Heero asked the girl.

Lilka sighed. "My parents made me take almost all of the classes here, and I'm so lousy in science and math. All I wanted to do is major in English and Japanese History. It's not as if I'm going to do any math in the future. I have enough magic in me to make me as great a sorceress as my sister."

As the word "magic" was used, Li, Quistis, Sakura, and Tomoyo looked at her. Li looked at her suspiciously, "Just how much magic do you have?"

"Enough to learn to be a sorceress, why?" Lilka said, not perturbed at Li's gaze. "The science teacher said that some people in this school have special powers. Magic isn't a secret anymore, you know."

Quistis smiled. "At least Li, Sakura and I are not alone. I was hoping for someone else to appear. So, where did you come from, inheriting magic like that?"

Lilka eased herself in the conversation. "I came from a place not reached by plane, car, or any vehicle you can think of. Actually, the only way to get there is to use magic. That's probably why Sielje Region is not found on the map."

"I see," Sakura said, "That's awesome! It's not very common to find someone with pure magic. Usually, someone wants to learn the basics of magic and Thom boosts that person with a little of his magic."

"Really?" Quatre asked, "He can actually do that? Lend magic to people?"

Li nodded, "Sure, he can. They don't call him the most powerful sorcerer for nothing. He's as powerful as my ancestor, Clow Reed."

"Clow Reed-sama isn't the most powerful sorcerer anymore, if you remember carefully, being that he split himself in two," Sakura retorted. "Are you trying to boast, Li-kun?"

"No, Sakura-san," Li answered. "I'm just telling them the truth."

Sakura frowned. "Some truth."

"Easy," Quatre said, trying to keep a quarrel from starting. "Can we please keep the peace here? Besides, it is the first junior day of the year."

Heero, thoughtfully placing his hand on the table, stood up. "This science teacher is very suspicious. I mean, why would he want to give some people a part of himself? Probably to manipulate them into doing his commands."

"Don't speak of Thom like that!" Quistis cried out angrily, "He might be quite eccentric, but he really is a nice guy."

Sakura nodded, seriously, "I agree. Besides, if he was a great sorcerer, he would have done something even less suspicious to make them do his bidding."

"Suit yourself," Heero said, "But you guys better watch your back. He might get rid of you first, seeing that you have your own power and not coming from him."

Duo, finishing the tray's contents, looked up at Heero thoughtfully. "I can see why you're acting like that, but I have to go with them. Shouldn't they be able to see through his actions? I mean, Quistis, Li, and Sakura are pretty smart. They would probably feel if anything was wrong."

Tomoyo smiled at Duo's defense of her friends. "We appreciate your trying to see our point of view," Tomoyo said, "But what Heero said can not be taken lightly. Sakura-san, we should watch out for trouble."

"And maybe I could videotape you in action once again," Tomoyo whispered to Sakura. "You don't know how many outfits I'm dying for you to try on."

Sakura laughed nervously. Then she stood up and excused herself. "My cooking class starts soon, and I want to get there early."

Syaoran also stood up, and looked at Tomoyo. "Come to think of it, something feels strange. I'll go and see."

"Hey!" Quistis cried out, "Wait for me!"

Tomoyo looked at Heero in an understanding way. "I can see why you think that way, maybe if you get to know the teacher a little bit more in your perspective, maybe we can get something out of that."

"You're a smart girl, Tomoyo," Quatre said, admiringly.

"No, not me," Tomoyo shook her head. "I might be great at thinking logically and at math, but you have to hand it to Quistis, who has been the smartest girl in the campus."

Quatre's eyes sparkled. "Looks like there will be competition after all."

"Not to mention," Tomoyo continued, "Syaoran is not bad himself. He's mighty good in any sport you throw at him, and he is a math wiz. Just can't comprehend History."

Duo smiled. "Well, I can see that Quatre will be having a good time by the looks of so many people competing for valedictorian."

"Once again, you're right, Duo," Quatre said, rising. "Now, I have music classes next."

"I should go with you then," Tomoyo said, emptying her tray. "I'm going to music class too."

"Really?" Quatre asked. "What's your musical talent?"

Tomoyo held herself up proudly. "None, but my instrument is my voice, and my voice only."

Quatre and Tomoyo walked out of the lunchroom, leaving Heero, Duo, and Lilka sitting on the table. Lilka was playing with her food and she looked up at Heero. "What classes do you have next?"

"English," Heero said, groaning. "I can't stand learning grammar. That reminds me too much of that crazy pacifist."

"Don't worry, Heero," Duo said happily, "I hate it, too. Thank goodness my class was already over. I have Literature next. What!?" he looked at his schedule. "NOO!"

Lilka looked at him in alarm, "What's wrong?"

"I have Literature class next!" Duo wept. "Why?! Why did Tomoyo talk me into taking the same subjects as her, and made me get others in place of the ones I couldn't take for her?!! Why?! Class will be so boring!"

Heero and Lilka looked at Duo outlandishly. Lilka burst out in laughter. "Don't worry, Duo. I have Literature too. Maybe I can help you out."

"I can't wait for this day to be over," Duo grumbled. "I can't wait until they get on with classes that involve your physical self. When do we get PE?"

"Not until tomorrow afternoon," Lilka answered. "What kind of sport are you going to try out for?"

Duo thought carefully. "Basketball would be nice."

Heero nodded in agreement. "Fencing and horseback riding lessons are also appropriate."

"You two almost think alike!" Lilka said, amused. "Let me guess, you two didn't really want to come here, but you were dragged here by a person of the other, right?"

Heero and Duo looked at each other and nodded in accord. Duo and Heero said adios to each other and Duo walked with Lilka to Literature. Heero looked on and walked the other direction. _I have to be careful. No one must know why I am here._

At his apartment after school, Heero was typing in his computer. "Accounts paid to the school, check. Monthly rent compensated, check. Electricity bill salaried, check. So far all my allowances have been remunerated. So far so good."

The phone rang. Heero reached for the phone and answered it. "Hello? Oh, it's you. Yes, the transition Quatre and I have made came through smoothly. The second part of the plan will be in action soon enough. Duo has also arrived, surprisingly. Should I fill him in as a gundam pilot should? Alright, I'll do just that. What else do you wish for me to confirm? Oh, that small problem? It will be quickly taken care of. I must get back to my business now. Goodbye."

Quatre walked in, looking pleasantly happy. "So, have you conferred to the headquarters on what we know so far?"

"Yes, and commands were dispatched to start the second part of the plan. We should also fill Duo in on this mission," Heero said.

"Do you think we should? I mean, with him trusting Tomoyo, he might tell her too," Quatre said, thoughtfully.

Heero shook his head. "We must do what we were told to do, and that was to tell Duo what our mission is. How else could he have been brought here?"

"Duo Maxwell was dragged to this school because of Tomoyo, and Tomoyo only. I don't think he liked the school to begin with," Quatre said, rolling his eyes. "But I guess you're right. We should tell him. He gave me his number, I think we should call him now."

Lilka frowned at the conjured wood lying on her bed. She tried to make her old shirt into a piece of cake, but somehow it backfired and turned into wood instead. The young sorceress sighed and made the wood fly into her fireplace. She watched it burn for a while and then stood up to get something to eat.

After eating, the sorceress took out a gemstone and held it up in the air. When she put it down, a figure appeared on the surface of the stone. "Hey, Lilka, how are you?" the figure asked.

"Fine, Tim," Lilka answered. "First day of school was okay, considering that I made new friends. They're peculiar, but nice."

The person named Tim nodded. "At least I can tell the others that you're fine. Irving wanted to tell you to watch your back. He feels a strange power in Japan, and he wants you to be careful that you don't get too involved in it. Well, anyway, how's your magic doing?"

Lilka made a face, "The same as it was 3 years ago. The only improvement I had over it was that I could actually change things into other objects, and make things float. Neat, huh?"

"Sure it is," Tim said, "Didn't you tell me that you had a science teacher that had magic? Why don't you go ask him to teach you how to use your powers properly?"

"I don't know, Tim," Lilka said, unsure. "He might be nice, but I think he could be cold as well. He's rather too cheerful, and I don't know why he wanted to quiz us on how much we know about magic. I think I did well enough on that test of his."

Tim's figure blurred and came back. "I can see that the gem is losing its power for now, might as well talk to you whenever, alright?"

"Bye, Tim," Lilka said, sadly, "I'll talk to you guys later."

Tim's figure vanished and the gem was back to its clear form. Lilka sighed and wondered what she could do tomorrow. _Maybe the people I met today have something do with the strange forces. Who knows, three of them said they had magic, so they could be the powers Irving mentioned. If they are, then I would be safe after all. Anyway, what would this strange power do to me? Trap me like my sister? Not any time this year, I hope. I have to finish high school first, _she thought aloud. Lilka lay down on her bed and turned to look at the fireplace. The fire went down, revealing the remains of the wood. The young sorceress yawned and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

"Hey, let's check out that store," Sakura said, walking with Tomoyo. "I haven't gone in there for days. Quistis said that they had something new in there. Besides, I have to pick out some presents for Christmas."

Tomoyo looked at Sakura in surprise. "Christmas? But it's only September! Why start shopping three months in advance?"

Sakura shrugged. "My dad always told me to do things when you think is right. I thought that buying you people presents now would save me time later. With all the exams we have to take before Christmas vacation, I doubt I will have any time to shop for gifts."

"I can see your point, Sakura-san," Tomoyo said, having an idea. "But can't you wait until tomorrow? You have to go to my house today. I just remembered that I had something for you to try on."

Sakura sighed. "Another outfit?"

"Yes," Tomoyo said, cheerfully, "Do you think you could get away from me that easily? Well, you'll have to try really hard to do so. So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Sakura and Tomoyo walked briskly towards Tomoyo's house. Sakura looked at the nicely painted house and walked up to the porch. "I forgot your mother was loaded. Maybe you could buy presents for me too."

"Yeah, right," Tomoyo said, beaming at the praise. "I'm not that rich. I was just given my bank account and I have to live from there. So far, with the many side jobs I have during the week, I'm alright."

"Where do you work?" Sakura asked.

The singer looked at her house and smiled. "I'm a part time fashion designer. That's why I don't have to work half the time. I already do what I like to do. I just needed to find someone to wear them for me, so I could post the model out on the Internet. Interested? I should ask Quistis and Lilka, too. All three of you could actually model for me."

Sakura smiled. "Hey, not a bad idea, Tomoyo-san. I like it. Why don't we call them now? Saves the time to tell them tomorrow."

"Why not?" Tomoyo said, going in the house and reaching for her white colored telephone. She dialed the number to Quistis's house and the blonde student answered.

_"Hello, this is Quistis Trepe." _

"Quistis?" Tomoyo said through the receiver. "Are you busy on Friday?"

_"No, not really, why. Wait, who is this?" _

Tomoyo answered her and told her that Sakura would explain everything. Sakura took the phone from her friend and placed it near her mouth. "Quisty? Well, are you busy? Great! Well, since you weren't doing anything that day, maybe you could come to Tomoyo-san's house that time. We're inviting Lilka as well, so don't worry. No, I don't think the guys will be coming. You will? Wonderful, we'll see you then, Quistis-san. Bye."

"Well, Sakura-san," Tomoyo said mischievously, "Call Lilka next. You know her better than I do."

Sakura shrugged. "Alright, what's her number? Oh, I remember."

The phone ringed for a while until the sleepy sorceress answered. Sakura replied, "Did I wake you up?" I'm so sorry, Lilka-san. I just couldn't wait to ask you what you were doing this Friday. Nothing? Excellent. Can you come over to Tomoyo-san's house that day? No, don't think about it, tell me now. Yes? Great! We'll see you tomorrow. See ya!"

"Time to design dresses," Tomoyo said, smiling to herself.

Li gazed at the sky in silence. The breeze blowing through his chestnut brown hair. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the power inside him. Since he got to seventh grade, Li Syaoran didn't need his lasen board to tell him where clow cards can be found. His power grew right after Sakura's encounter with Eriol, and he was determined to train this newly growing magic.

He shook his head. "I don't feel anything. Maybe Sakura-san did catch all the cards and turn them into Sakura cards. I hope so, or else it would be time to go back into catching them again."

Syaoran walked on, then he stopped. Without even noticing, he felt a small burst of energy coming from the store in front of him. He quickly moved towards the shop and went in. Inside, he saw two people looking in on who Li thought was his math teacher. Setsuna seemed to be talking to the two figures. The first one, a woman with sea-green hair, was examining the glass vase that was broken. The second figure was a tomboyish woman who had short blonde hair with emerald eyes. She was listening intently to what Setsuna was saying. All three people looked grim.

Suddenly, the woman with sea-green hair looked quickly to where Syaoran was standing. She smiled, trying to put her charm on the young boy. "Hello, are you looking for something? May I assist you?" she said.

Li looked at her piercingly, "No, miss, but could you tell me what that strange energy was? Don't ask me what energy, because I felt it, and I won't deny it."

Setsuna looked closer and nodded. "That's Syaoran Li, a student of mine. He's one of Thom's students as well."

The blonde haired woman raised her eyebrows and looked at the girl with green hair. They both nodded. The blonde looked back at Li and cleared her throat. "Permit me to introduce myself. I am Haruka and my partner over here is Michiru. You're wondering about the energy you felt just now? Well, as you can see, we only have a small idea on what it was. You should ask your science teacher. Maybe he knows, his expertise is on this kind of subject."

"You can't even tell me what you think it is?" Li said, disappointed.

Michiru thought for a while. "We kind of think that a rising of a dead magical being was taking place. Either that, or someone has just been turned over to the evil magic order. Either way, none of us like it very much. Are you satisfied of the answer? Then again, that is what we think that burst of energy was. I am not very sure."

Syaoran decided to let the subject down and an object in the store caught his eye. He went closer to the object and examined it. It looked like one of the Sakura cards, but somehow it didn't feel like the real thing. He decided to buy it and left the store.

"Maybe Sakura-san would like it," Li suggested. "I'll just give it to her tomorrow."

The three Outer Senshi looked on outside at the descendant of the famous Clow Reed. They looked at each other and smiled grimly. "We really should let them do this by themselves. This event does not involve us," Michiru suggested.

"I agree, Michiru-san," Haruka said. "This is not our fight. It's theirs. Otherwise, how else are other people going to learn that they can't always depend on the same people all the time? Japan needs new heroes, for goodness' sake."

Setsuna looked at her friends and approved of the decision. "Good. So from now on, they are on their own. Unless the danger gets too out of hand…"

"That's when we step in," a college girl with short black hair and purple eyes said, appearing from the back of the store. "But for now, we just wait and see what these new recruits can do."

The second day of school began. Some of the students sighed tiredly, already getting sick of the many subjects these students had to take. Quistis, Quatre and Duo came in the school entrance at the same time. They said "hi" to each other and went on their separate ways. The day went on as usual, all their teachers started on pouring out the work on each subject.

Quatre, Li, and Heero stepped in science class and Thom motioned the three of them with five other people to come and talk to him outside. As he signaled to them to come and huddle around him, he whispered out to them. "Now, you people here are candidates for taking or learning the craft of sorcery. Don't tell me that you have no magic blood, I am not offering you to take the course, of course. Magic is not the only concern of mine. You also have to learn about certain plants and objects that create a magical aura. You don't necessarily have to have magic to practice this skill. So, are any of you interested? I would like to know immediately after school. All sports tryouts will be held after the test you will take to determine what class you'll be getting."

After his little speech, he went back in the classroom and told everyone else to come in. Quatre and Heero looked at each other and the blonde wrote a note to him. It read: "Are you going to take the classes? It sounds interesting."

Heero looked back and wrote on the same piece of paper, saying: "If it brings me to get to know him, yes. I want to know what this guy is all about."

The two went back in paying attention to their lessons and none of them mentioned the word "magic" to each other until lunch. Li sat motionless in his seat, thinking about the chance he can get in asking Thom about the strange burst of energy. He wanted to get his classes over with, wanting to talk with his friends and ask if any of them made it in.

The day went by quickly for many people, even Duo. Lunch came and people filed in the lunchroom. Sakura hurried to Tomoyo and told her the news of her making it in to sorcery class. "Tomoyo-san! I'm a qualified person! Thom might take me as a student for magic class! I'm so excited! This never occurred until now!"

"You made it in?" Tomoyo asked, happy for her friend. "That's great! I made it in, too, but…"

Sakura looked at Tomoyo and interrupted her, "But what, Tomoyo-san? Is something wrong with magic lessons? He said that you don't need magic to learn with his lessons. Why not just try with me?"

Tomoyo shook her head, "I would, Sakura-san, but I have a class for design with Ms. Setsuna at that time. She won't set up another time, and she said that the sorcery class won't, either. You know how much I love making clothes, and I'm going to follow it all the way. Why waste a class with something you'd never do in your life? What's more, I could always learn from you, Sakura-san."

"I see, Tomoyo-san," Sakura said. "It's alright, Li and I can manage. Quistis and Lilka probably got in, too. So I won't be lonely."

Tomoyo changed the subject. "Hey, have they passed out the flyers to you about the outdoor activities they have and when to try out? If you don't, I have it right here…"

The green eyed brunette nodded vigorously. "There's so much to do, this year! First the regular lessons increase, then extra lessons in the afternoon, and now the sports activities!"

"What are you taking?" Tomoyo asked, taking the list out. "I was planning to try out horseback riding lessons in the morning. As you well know, I'm kind of poor at athletics, so I'll stay away from them."

Sakura peeked at the paper and smiled. "I'll take the lessons in the morning, too, Tomoyo-san, even fencing. Then gymnastics and track is fine for me. I know I have no other talent in the other sports, and I already swim good enough to keep me from drowning."

Duo approached the girls. "Hey, Tomoyo! Hi, Sakura. Are you guys taking the morning activities?"

The two girls nodded and asked him what sport he was taking in the afternoon. He answered, "Oh, basketball. Heero and I are taking the same sport, except that I'm not taking fencing lessons. I wonder what Quatre and Li will be taking."

Li walked up to them and frowned at Duo. "For your information, I might just take the morning lessons, soccer, track, and volleyball. Hey, Sakura-san, are you taking volleyball?"

"Volleyball was included? Where?" Sakura asked, "But that's only after spring break! That's months away!"

"So?" Syaoran demanded, "It helps when you know what you're doing for the rest of the year. Well, are you taking it?"

Li's stare was so piercing that Sakura had to look away and answer him. "I might, just to show you that I'm better than you in sports."

"Whatever you say," Li said, sounding confident of himself.

Quatre came around the corner, carrying a bunch of books with him. He seemed to be puzzled, seeing that everyone seemed to be in a form of bickering. "Hey, guys! Um…guys?"

Syaoran and Sakura were still arguing about who was better in sports when they both turned around. Sakura turned to Tomoyo. "Tomoyo-san, I felt something strange."

"What is it?" Tomoyo asked. "Is it a new Clow card? I thought you caught all of them."

Li nodded. "She did, and this does not feel like a Clow card. The energy is somewhat familiar, but I can't pinpoint it to anyone or anything. It's as if someone we know is back. Sakura-san, who do you know that has magic?"

Sakura thoughtfully closed her eyes and the two concentrated on each other. Quatre was completely puzzled and he looked at Tomoyo for advice. Tomoyo mouthed out to him: "Leave them," and beckoned the others to another table. After everyone moved, she sighed. "Ever since they were able to read what each other was thinking, they don't have to talk aloud what's happening. It's useless. Those that have magic can't even get through them."

"What's wrong?" Duo asked, as puzzled as Quatre.

Before the singer could answer, Quistis and Lilka came about, glancing at Sakura and Li's table. Although Lilka raised her eyebrows, she didn't say anything. When the two girls reached Tomoyo's table, Quistis glanced at the two magicians again. "Don't tell me that they felt something and I didn't."

"It must have been something they know about, or else everyone else would have felt it," Lilka said, thinking. "If they have it done with, they might tell us."

"How sure are you about that?" Heero asked silently coming up from behind Tomoyo. "What if they don't want to?"

Tomoyo shrugged. "Then they won't. I respect Sakura-san's privacy. Eventually, she will tell me though. I'm her best friend. There was nothing she couldn't tell me before."

As they looked on at the two, they saw Sakura's face turn to surprise. Li nodded to her and they both stood up. The final words were spoken loudly by Sakura, "How can you be sure, Syaoran-kun?"

"Trust me," Syaoran said, "After much study about Western and Eastern magic, I know."

The two joined the rest of their table and not one person asked a question. Soon, the table began its usual chattering, and the event before was forgotten.

Tomoyo reached for Sakura's sleeve and dragged her off to a sidewalk. "I need to measure you, Lilka, and Quistis today. Will you guys come?"

Sakura chuckled nervously. "Uh, sure, Tomoyo-san. I'll go tell them right away. I'll see you then, okay?"

"Thanks, Sakura-san," Tomoyo said, cheerfully. "I'm so happy! I am able to design clothes for you again. They will look so cute on the three of you!" And with that, Tomoyo bounded off towards her house.

Quistis and Lilka caught up with Sakura. Sakura turned to them and asked them if they could go over Tomoyo's house today to take measurements. The two agreed and the three girls started walking to Tomoyo's mansion.


	3. Start of Trouble

The Start of Trouble 

"There she is! Tomoyo-san, it's Quistis!" Sakura said, waving at her friend. The girls were excited, since it was their first actual dance in high school. The blond beauty ran up to them. "Geeze, I couldn't find anyone around."

"Quistis-san," Sakura said, overjoyed. "I'm so very glad to see you. Do you know if Lilka is coming?"

Tomoyo nudged her friend and the girls turned to find Quatre waving at them. Quistis yelled in pleasure and she grabbed her two friends then ran to the blonde gundam pilot. Quatre beckoned his two other friends to come over to where he was standing and Duo looked over to where Quatre was pointing. Duo whistled and he smiled.

"Hey, Tomoyo," Duo said, admiring his girlfriend. "Wow, you look great."

Tomoyo clasped her hands together. "Arigato, Duo-kun! It didn't take very long to design, actually."

Heero cleared his throat. "What happened to Lilka and Syaoran?"

"Li-kun is coming much later," Sakura said, not concerned, "He'll be here. We haven't seen Lilka anywhere."

Just then, a blast of ice shot into the air. A girl was standing where the showers were falling. She seemed to be looking at her wand, embarrassed to have this happen to her like this. Heero raised his eyebrow and shrugged. "There she is."

The blundering girl moved her way to her friends and smiled nervously. "Sorry for setting my wand off. I got carried away by the lights and thought someone was going to attack me."

"Typical," Syaoran said, coming up from the red rug outside. "I thought I felt your energy being used."

Lilka glared at Syaoran. "Look, I know I'm not as strong as you are, but I learned you know! At least I have more power than my sister. Now I can really call myself an Eleniak Witch Girl."

Sakura, wanting to stop the bickering, pulled Syaoran into the dance floor. "Li-kun, let's dance!"

Syaoran, looking puzzled and taken by surprise, followed Sakura along and started dancing to the music. The band had put on _Dance With Me_ by Debelah Morgan and this perked both Quistis and Heero up. Quistis clapped her hands and looked at the guys. "Does anyone want to dance?"

Heero stepped up, bored. "These people bore me. I need some excitement."

Quatre winked at Duo. Both pilots smiled. At least they can see the Perfect Soldier dance. Surprisingly, Quistis and Heero danced tremendously well and the dance floor was cleared to let them dance alone. The two had enough room to do their own freestyle dance. At the end of the dance, the people clapped and Quistis and Heero came back, accompanied by Sakura and Syaoran.

"Wow, Quistis-san, Heero-kun," Tomoyo admired. "I didn't know you guys could dance really well. You should be professionals. Too bad I didn't have it on video, since my batteries ran out. What a day!"

Heero shrugged and returned to Duo's side, where he was nudged and winked at. "Good going," Duo said, "The girl is quite cute!"

Quatre looked disappointed. "I wish I could dance like Heero, maybe that's something I don't have."

Quistis looked at the disgruntled blonde and held her hand out to him. He looked at it strangely. She looked impatiently. "Come on, I'll teach you."

Syaoran shook his head and sat down. "I can't believe you made me go and dance, Sakura-san. I can't take dancing. Why don't you take Heero? He can dance as well as you can."

Duo chuckled and looked at Tomoyo. His partner didn't care if he took Sakura out to dance. So now it was left with Tomoyo, Heero, Lilka, and Syaoran. They looked on in silence, until Li stood up. Heero noticed the strange look on his face.

"Something bothering you?" Heero asked. He looked at the direction Li seems to be looking at.

Tomoyo and Lilka looked also. What the four saw was a small piece of light that was floating around the punch line. Syaoran was there immediately. Tomoyo and Heero followed. Lilka slinked to the dance floor and warned the others. The three got to the area as soon as the light got bigger. When it grew as big as a portal, a sword came out and so did a young man in his twenties. The young man jumped and turned around to face the portal. He seems to be facing an opponent.

With the man, a T-Rexaur appeared. The crowd became confused and Sakura immediately used the Sleep Card on most of them. The rest of the party assembled for battle. Quistis, spotting the monster, raised a hand and forced her magic out. Dark Matter began to rise and her Blue Magic shot into the monster. The T-Rexaur faded away and flew away from the portal.

The man put away his sword and turned to look at Quistis. Quistis looked at him in surprise. "Squall! What on earth are you doing here?"

Syaoran looked curiously at Quistis then at Squall. He folded his arms about his chest and listened to the conversation the two were holding.

"Matron said you were going to be found here," Squall said, panting slightly.

Quistis scowled. "Leave it to Edea to keep her mouth shut. Why did she tell you?"

"Quistis," Squall said, trying to explain. "We need your magic. Our world is in danger, it seems. There is this great big maze growing in the middle of Balamb, and it's keeping us from getting to Zell and the others. Edea suggested that since you had experience in foreign magic, you and some of your friends might be able to help."

Sakura, Li, and Tomoyo looked at each other, thinking of the Maze Card. Sakura sent a message to Syaoran, "But I am the Mistress of these cards. Why is the Maze Card doing all that havoc?"

"Try to take out your Maze Card," Syaoran thought back.

The Card Mistress obeyed Li's orders and silently took out her Maze Card. It seems to be there. Quatre, noticing the slight exchange of nods and shakes, knew there was something going on. "What is it?" he asked Tomoyo, knowing that she would have an idea of what her best friends were talking about.

Tomoyo shook her head and smiled dreamily. "I think Sakura-san is now able to wear the fabulous costumes I made day and night for her! What a special day! I have to get the costumes and video camera!"

"Come on," Duo whispered to Tomoyo, "We can get what you need in your house and come back here as soon as possible. They don't call me a fast driver for nothing. They'll still be here when we get back."

"Alright," Tomoyo nodded, happy. She turned towards Sakura and Li and said, "Don't leave until I come back, Sakura-san, Syaoran-kun."

The two magicians laughed nervously, knowing what Tomoyo was thinking. They sighed and looked at Quistis and Squall. They were done talking.

Quistis looked at Lilka. "Lilka, can you please stay here so you guys can watch out for more trouble? Li and Sakura will go with me, they seem to know something about what's happening."

Lilka nodded and took Quatre and Heero by the shoulder. "Let's go and leave these people to themselves, shall we? Don't worry, Duo and Tomoyo will be back shortly."

"Oh, I forgot to bring Yukito-san and Kero-chan! I have to bring them for sure!" Sakura said, exclaiming. She pulled out her cellular phone and dialed Kero-chan's number. "Kero-chan? Call Yukito-san and both of you come to Mugen Gakuen as soon as possible. This is urgent!"

Squall raised his eyebrows. "Why do you need more people? Three are enough."

"You don't understand, Squall," Quistis said, "Those people Sakura-san just called were her Guardians. They don't go anywhere without their Mistress."

Syaoran grinned. "You make it sound like Sakura-san is helpless when not with Yue and Kerberos."

"I am not!" Sakura said, trying to defend herself. "I beat one of my Guardians so I could save everyone. I don't see you doing all those deeds, Li-kun."

"That's because I was weak, before," Syaoran retorted. "Now that I've trained, I'm quite as strong as Clow."

Tomoyo came back in holding a bag and a video camera. "I'm back! Sakura-san, Syaoran-kun! Here are the costumes that you will wear for your adventure! I can't wait to start filming!"

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other. "There is this one problem, Tomoyo-san," Sakura began, "You can't go with us this time. They need those with magic and we thought that it might be safer to leave you here with Lilka and the others."

"Oh, don't worry," Tomoyo said joyfully. "I don't have to go to video tape you. That's why I brought my mother's latest portable cameras! They're small enough so that you can't see them! I brought two of them."

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other. Tomoyo placed a small gadget on each costume and handed it to the two magicians. An hour passed and Sakura and Li were finally ready. Tomoyo screamed with excitement, holding her own video camera. "You two look so cute! This is a great saga, Sakura-san's Great Adventure in Another World. And to think that my small cameras will be filming Sakura-san's and Syaoran-kun's every moves!"

Quistis chuckled and pulled Squall towards the portal. She beckoned the other two to follow them. "Come on! We can't be wasting time here, you know."

Syaoran looked at Duo and Tomoyo. "When the people begin to wake up, make sure you don't tell them what happened. I'm sure you will be able to take care of it."

"They don't call me Duo Maxwell for nothing!" Duo exclaimed, "And Tomoyo isn't a bad actress herself."

"I'm sure Sakura-san's brother will help in explaining their strange experiences," Tomoyo said calmly. She then clapped her hands in joy and said dreamily, "This is surely a special day!"

Kero-chan and Yukito came running into the school auditorium. "What did you need us for, Sakura-san?" Yukito asked, puzzled. "Kero-chan told me to run over here."

Sakura smiled in relief and beckoned the two. "We have to go on a mission in another world. You two have to come with me."

"What!" Kero-chan sputtered, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could have followed you and eaten something good while waiting."

Syaoran snorted. "It's not as if we knew this was going to happen, stuffed animal. We can't tell the future, and Sakura won't use her magic to tell the future. That kind of magic is for those that care enough."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Kero-chan yelled, angered at Syaoran for calling him a stuffed animal.

Sakura and Yukito looked at each other, then laughed. "We should be going now, shall we?" Yukito said.

Squall and Quistis opened the portal and the people stepped in. Tomoyo and Duo waved fervently at them. The party soon disappeared. Tomoyo sighed. "Sakura-san would make a great sorceress. She is so cute in the outfits!"

"Well, well," a figure said in the shadows, "They went already. The plan is at hand."

Duo turned around, "I thought people with no magic should be asleep. Who is there?"

Thom stepped up. "Don't worry, I saw what happened. This was something I expected. I'm surprised at the sorcerers going though. I half expected Lilka to go with Quistis, and not the other two. Oh well, they could do this better than the Eleniak anyway. Lilka will be getting her chance later."

"You knew about this?" Tomoyo asked, "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Why would I?" Thom asked, amused. "These dangers and troubles are for your generation, not mine. The gods are testing you young ones. Be careful. I am only here to help."

The sorcerer disappeared and Tomoyo and Duo were left to calm the waking crowd.

~Well, that's about it. What did you think about it? Okay? More chapters soon to come....that is...if I have any reviews...-.-


	4. Balamb

~::clears throat:: well, here's the next chapter. hopefully, it gets better and better, but, oh wellz

Balamb 

"Wow!" Sakura said in awe. "This is your world? It's beautiful!"

Quistis smelled the fresh air of her world and smiled. "It's good to be back again. So, where's Ragnarok?"

"I'm calling Selphie to come pick us up…" Squall said, when suddenly, two sorceress creatures riding on silver dragons came out of the sky. Everyone got ready for battle.

Squall started to attack the first sorcerers. Quistis decided to help her friend. Sakura and Syaoran took care of the other enemy. "Sword!"

It seems that the sorceress caught Sakura off balance, and (since Sakura had her wings on) knocked the Card Mistress unconscious. She fell and Syaoran ran to her side. "Sakura-san! Yue! Save her!"

Yukito, not knowing what to do, transformed into his real form. Yue flew to Sakura and caught her before she hit her head. Syaoran smiled with relief. Kero-chan, transforming into Kerberos, used his fire magic to attack the sorceress. The sorceress vanished and the dragon was left. Sakura finally came into her consciousness and finished off the dragon with the Erase Card.

Yue dropped Sakura on her feet on the ground. "Sakura-san, are you okay?"

Sakura nodded her head, "Thank you, Yue, for saving my life."

"It's only my duty, as Guardian," Yue answered. He looked around to look for Quistis and Squall and saw that they were still having trouble with the dragon. "I'll go and help them. You guys stand back here."

The Judge flew over near the dragon and Squall turned to look at him. Quistis stopped firing her magic and stood to watch what Yue will do. Yue, power ready, shot bolts of ice at the dragon. The dragon screamed and fell to the ground. Yue then used the Windy Card to drive the dragon away from the area. After this was done, the silver haired guardian flew back to the ground, losing his wings, but not his form. "I think I will stay as Yue for a while."

"Splendid!" Quistis said, running towards them. "That was a show of great power! I've never seen such pure energy!"

Kerberos sighed and frowned at Yue. "There you go again, showing off your magnificent powers. When will you learn not to overdo it, Yue?"

Yue's eyes flickered. "When I see fit. Shouldn't you go back to your own form, Kerberos? It seems better if you should."

"I will if you go back to Yukito!" Kerberos argued.

Syaoran grinned. "I think Yue is fine how he is, considering the fact that he might catch attention with the ladies. You, on the other hand, should go back to animal form, or else people might become hostile towards you."

"Li-kun is right," Sakura said, thinking about how handsome Yue was (yet, also knowing that Yukito will still look better in her opinion). "He would make many people feel schweet!"

Kerberos, growling in anger, returned to his stuffed animal state. Squall looked around for signs of the airship that would pick them up. Ragnarok approached the party slowly and then the ship opened to let everyone in. As Sakura entered the red ship, she gasped in awe. Inside Ragnarok was a group of people in uniform saluting Squall and Quistis.

"Instructor Trepe!"

"Welcome back, Instructor!"

"Nice to see you again, Squall, Quistis," says a man with brown hair tied around his back. "Selphie can't wait to see who you've brought with us, bearing in mind that she did catch a glimpse of you from the ship's window."

Quistis smiled warmly, "They're right here, Irvine. This is Sakura Kinomoto, Li Syaoran, and her friends, um…Yue, and Kero-chan."

"Nice to meet all of you," Irvine said, giving them a warm hand to shake. Yue acknowledged it with a nod. "Well…you guys seem to be a friendly group. Why don't you people go upstairs while we prepare for lunch?"

Sakura stepped up, "I would like to feel useful, if you don't mind."

"Oh?" Irvine asked, charmed at this pretty green eyed girl. "And what kind of help are you planning to do?"

"Well," Sakura said, "How about preparing the lunch? I'm quite good in cooking."

Quistis and Syaoran nodded at the thought of having Sakura make their food. Yue just shrugged, knowing he won't eat any of the food and Kero-chan rejoiced at the sound of food. "Remember to make dessert, Sakura-san!"

Irvine led Sakura to the kitchen and the others went upstairs. Selphie met them upstairs. She seemed to be excited in meeting the newcomers. Syaoran blushed, remembering that he and Sakura were wearing the costumes Tomoyo made for them. As Selphie saw them, she clasped her hands in joy. "They look so cute with those clothes! Who makes their outfits?"

Syaoran laughed rather nervously, "My friend, Tomoyo-san, makes them."

"I see," Selphie said, liking the new people. She looked at Kero-chan and laughed. "This one is adorable! What's the stuffed animal's name?"

Kero-chan turned red. "I AM NOT A STUFFED ANIMAL!"

"Stuffed animal," Syaoran said, mocking the Sun Guardian. "Better not yell at the girl. You don't know what she might do to you."

Yue stood there, eyes amused. He had been silent until Selphie asked for his name. He turned to look at her and Selphie gulped. She wasn't used to looking at handsome silver haired people with purplish silver eyes. "What is it?" Yue asked innocently.

"His name is Yue," Syaoran said, noticing Selphie's uncomfortable moment. "That is if he stays in that form. When he isn't his real self, then you call him Yukito."

The Moon Guardian looked on at Selphie then he straightened and looked elsewhere. Selphie gulped again and whispered to Syaoran. "What is he to the girl in the kitchen? Is he a boyfriend of hers?"

Syaoran blushed and looked away, to find Sakura waving at him. Syaoran raised an eyebrow at her and he turned to see Selphie look at who he gazed at. "N…no, Yue's not Sakura-san's boyfriend. He's the Guardian of the Sakura Cards. Sakura's only his Mistress."

"I see," Selphie said, "Sorry for being too nosy, I just wanted to know. I'm kind of curious when it comes to the matters of the heart."

Syaoran laughed. "That's alright. I understand."

"Shouldn't we be going for lunch?" Kero-chan asked, impatient and hungry.

Yue decided to turn back into Yukito and he cleaned his glasses. "Oh, boy, where's the food? Kero-chan mentioned food, didn't he?"

"Since you both are hungry," Squall said, amused at the guardians' appetites. "I think Sakura's done with making lunch. She said to tell you guys she also made dessert."

"YAY! YAY!" Kero-chan exclaimed. "Food! Food! Dessert! Dessert! Cake! Cake!"

Sakura came to join them, carrying 8 trays on top of each other. Syaoran went to help her. "How many trays did you bring?"

"I brought 8," Sakura answered, not troubled by the trays. "Six for each of us and two for Yukito, knowing he will be this hungry. I even made him two desserts."

Syaoran sighed, remembering about Yukito's big stomach. "Eating a lot is healthy."

They reached the others and they began to eat. Quistis inquired about Irvine. Sakura said that he will be joining them soon. He just needed to clear things up with the mechanics.

"Now about this maze," Quistis asked Squall, "What are we supposed to do about it?"

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other. "We should check to see whether it's what we think it is," Syaoran spoke up. "That way maybe we know what to do."

Irvine came upon them. "Food was delicious! You're a great cook, Sakura."

"I quite agree," Yukito said, already finished. "Her food is always good."

Sakura blushed from the praise and handed the dessert for everyone. Kero-chan rejoiced, waiting for the dessert. He immediately stuffed the dessert (his favorite, pudding) into his mouth while everyone started to open up theirs. Quistis, Selphie and Squall quietly tasted their pudding and nodded with approval. Sakura beamed with joy, finding praise for her cooking in another place.

"Ah, this is good, Sakura-san!" Yukito said. Sakura turned even redder than before. Selphie noticed this and asked Syaoran how the food tasted.

Syaoran felt uncomfortable. He looked at Sakura, who smiled evilly. He gulped down the dessert and blushed. "It's very good, Sakura-san."

"Thank you, Li-kun," Sakura grinned. "That's a compliment I'll remember until the day I die."

"That's because every other time you spoil your cooking," Syaoran retorted back, gaining back his confidence.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him and went back to eating her dessert in silence. Selphie chuckled silently, entertained at the show of emotion around the three people. Yukito, who seems to be attracting both forces his way, and both people liking each other. The brown haired girl enjoyed the rest of her silent lunch, thinking of another way to get the new people feel uncomfortable. Not that she disliked them, she wanted to see them blush, and they were so cute!

After lunch, everyone gathered to a meeting room in Ragnarok so they can discuss the problem. Yukito, now back to Yue, frowned. "What is all this discussing? Why can't we be heading off to where the trouble is and figure it out from there?"

"I know," Quistis said, smiling, "That's why I told them to head over to Balamb right away, While we're waiting, it might do good if we did discuss the matter, Yue."

Yue's eyes sparkled and stepped in the room. Sakura shook her head, whispering an apology for Yue's actions. Syaoran and Kero-chan followed behind, arguing. Squall sighed, having trouble coping with hyper people. He looked at Quistis for help, but she only grinned maliciously. She saluted him. "Ready to start the meeting, Commander?"

"Thanks a lot, Quistis," Squall grumbled and entered the room.

Squall cleared his throat to let them know that he's ready to start a conversation. People were still talking, even Selphie and Irvine, who were asking Syaoran and Yue about their powers and abilities. Squall looked at Quistis, who was stifling a laugh. She looked professionally at Squall. "I'll handle this."

The blonde woman raised her hand and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Help! I'm in deep trouble!"

Everyone turned to look at Quistis and Squall watched her in admiration. "Thanks, I think."

"No problem," Quistis grinned.

Irvine ran his hand through his hair. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"Our objection is to rid Balamb and the island of this mysterious maze that appeared out of nowhere," Squall began. "Where did it come from? How did it get here? Why does it only let magic users in? Who will be going inside the maze? How will we get rid of it? These are the questions we must look at before facing this force."

Yue grumbled. "Maybe if we took a look at this phenomena, then we might be able to help."

Sakura and Syaoran nodded. Sakura looked at Irvine. "How far is it until we get to this place?"

"Oh, only a few more minutes," Irvine answered. "We'll be there soon. All we have to do now is listen to Squall's boring lectures. We might get some decent sleep before we get to business."

"I heard that," Squall said, frowning at the remark. "What I'm trying to tell you are the questions we should look over and try to answer so we could get this force clear of the way."

Syaoran stood up, "Obviously, if the maze appeared letting only magic users in, then it probably will disappear when you finish it. That is, go inside and find the exit."

"And who will conduct this deal of business, Syaoran?" Squall asked.

Syaoran raised his eyebrows. "Why would Sakura and me be here unless we have something to do to help? I certainly will go, ask Sakura whether she would like to go or not."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," Sakura retorted. "Yue might know more about this maze if we get inside."

A SeeD member walked in the room. He saluted and announced, "We have arrived to the destination, please prepare to land."

Squall nodded at the member and turned to the others. "Alright, we shall see who goes. No doubt, I can't go, since I have no pure magic powers. The power of a GF won't work with this maze, so that can't be our answers. Edea will go with those that will enter the maze."

Quistis stood up. "I certainly am not going to miss this opportunity."

Sakura and Syaoran decided. Sakura looked at Yue and Kero-chan. "You're going with me, aren't you?"

The two guardians nodded and they looked at Selphie, who showed signs of magic. Selphie gulped and nodded, "What about Rinoa?" Selphie asked.

Squall shook his head. "She won't be with us, she says that her powers are too weak to penetrate. Sadly, her sorceress powers have greatly subsided. Even Selphie has more power than her these days."

"Well, just as I have predicted," Quistis said, "Miss Heartilly has no use for us at all anymore. Too bad."

Irvine looked at the blonde in surprise. "How could you say that?"

Quistis looked at him. "Simple. I just did. And I am only stating the facts. It doesn't matter whether she is or was my friend."

Yue walked to the window and gazed out. He saw the dark portal that covered the whole Balamb island. His eyebrows raised in surprise at the force of the tremendous power. He quickly turned around. "This is not a Clow Card, or Sakura Card for that matter. It doesn't even feel like _his _powers. This maze is something only Lilka would know of!"

Sakura looked at Yue in alarm. "Are you sure?"

"When am I never?" Yue said.

Syaoran shrugged. "It is kind of too late to go back and tell Lilka to come over here, now is it? Like the saying goes, 'Let's go on with the show.' We might be able to do this with or without Lilka Eleniak's help. Don't worry, Sakura-san."

The Card Mistress nodded slowly, "I have you and the Sakura Cards to protect me. Yue, Kero-chan, please help Li-kun. I can protect myself."

Kero-chan protested, while Yue nodded. "Why are you asking me to protect this brat!? I don't want to!"

"Well, you're going to, Kero-chan," Sakura demanded. The sound of Sakura's voice surprised even herself, and Kero-chan stopped his complaining. Selphie sighed and asked Irvine if he will be joining them. Irvine shook his head, knowing that he doesn't even have half Rinoa's magic to begin with.

"I'll be seeing you, then," Irvine said, waving his hand good-bye.

Squall walked with the magicians. "I'll be accompanying you until I can't go on any longer. Matron will take care of the rest. I hope you guys finish this mission."

"Squall," Quistis glared at him, "Do you really think we're this helpless? Didn't you see Yue beat that blasted dragon? If his Mistress controls a power like that, I would shudder to think what Sakura and Syaoran can do. Let alone me, I have gained much power, you know."

The gunblade expert sighed, knowing the amount of magic these people held. "I just hope you're as athletic as you are powerful."

Sakura, Yue, and Syaoran exchanged looks. Sakura and Syaoran smiled, knowing how athletic they were. Sakura turned to Squall. "Don't worry about it, Squall. We'll get back alive and unscratched. And if you're that worried, we'll protect Quistis as well."

Squall looked alarmed at this comment and coughed in his hand. "It's not that I'm that worried…I mean…I know Quistis will do fine…I…oh forget it."

Quistis laughed and walked on ahead, followed by everyone else.

The party walked closer to the portal. A dark figure could be seen near the portal. Squall was prepared to turn back. "Edea's waiting for you. I have to turn back now, good luck."

Quistis waved to Squall and resumed walking to the portal. The portal was gaining energy as they walked towards it. Selphie was getting nervous. Yue, feeling the girl's nervousness, placed a hand on her shoulder. Selphie jumped and realized that Yue was looking at her. Selphie chuckled nervously and Yue's eyes sparkled. He turned away to look at the sorceress standing by the portal. She examined the newcomers and smiled.

"Welcome," Edea said warmly, "The portal is completely open now, I saw through it. Will this be it?"

Selphie nodded. "Yes, this will be the party to go in."

Edea approved. "I have one problem, though. We can't all go in, seeing that someone needs to keep the portal open, so I will be staying here, to keep the door open."

"But," Selphie protested, "What will Quistis and I do?"

Quistis frowned. "We can both take care of ourselves, Selphie. We have enough magic. Don't worry, Edea, we won't fail to liberate Balamb from this force."

"Good," Edea said, "Now go, and I will see you off."

The party stepped in the portal and they vanished. Edea sighed. "Now let's see what you guys can do."

****

As the party entered the maze, a voice was heard. "Lilka? Is that you?"

Yue answered the voice. "I'm afraid Lilka isn't with us. Who is this?"

The voice paused before answering. "Lilka is not with you? I'm afraid this was going to happen. Now what am I going to do? Forgive me, I'm Lilka's older sister, the greater of the Eleniak Witch Girls. As you can see, I'm kind of trapped in these mazes and I can't help you physically, otherwise I won't need Lilka."

"Lilka's sister?" Sakura asked. She remembered quickly about the sister Lilka talked about that was quite stronger than her. "She said you were trapped somewhere. Where are you?"

The voice paused again, before answering. "I'm here, and I'm not. You could say that I'm in these mazes. These mazes are called Millennium Puzzle Mazes. This is going to be difficult, seeing that Lilka isn't with you."

"We'll try to finish this maze," Quistis said, "What do we do?"

"First," the voice said, "You see those four floating boxes on each column? You have to shoot it with fire magic, but you have to shoot it at the standing platform in front of it. Otherwise, it won't work. Your goal is to get to each platform and use fire magic at the boxes."

Yue started to fly, when the voice interrupted. "Don't think of flying to the boxes, because it's protected by a barrier. Even those that can fly will have trouble in getting to the platform. Listen, if you follow the pathway ahead of you, then you can get to the first box. I can't always help you like this, because I can only talk to you here."

Syaoran understood and headed to the path the voice directed them to. Selphie followed Syaoran. Quistis and Sakura looked at each other. Sakura sighed and walked toward the path and Quistis waited until Yue and Kero-chan followed their Mistress before watching the party's back. Syaoran leaded the party and they walked, with Selphie keeping an eye on their tracks.

Quistis yelped and a monster attacked. Sakura and Yue chose to help at the back, while Syaoran also faced trouble in the front. Selphie and Kerberos went to his aide. The two parties fought the monsters with small trouble and they went on with their quest. The group walked on until they reached a dead end with a giant green gem facing them.

"Should we touch the green gem?" Selphie asked, looking curiously at it.

Syaoran reached for it, but Yue got to the gem first. Yue disappeared and Syaoran looked on in surprise. He also touched the gem and likewise, vanished. Sakura scowled. "Men! Won't they wait for us? No, they decide to do this all by themselves. I'm going to follow them, wherever they went."

"What if the gem transports us in different places?" Kero-chan asked, cautiously. "We should all touch it at the same time, just in case."

Quistis shrugged. "Whatever you say, just as long as I end up somewhere."

The girls and stuffed animal touched the gem and they appeared on a platform. Yue looked at them. "Where were you? Syaoran has already set fire to the first block. He is down there."

Syaoran was standing with his hands on his hips. "What took you so long?"

"We were just being cautious, brat," Kero-chan replied, "Unlike the two of you, who might have ended up somewhere if you weren't careful."

Yue looked calmly at Kero-chan. "As long as we didn't, then we are fine. Do you still see us here? Then don't fuss."

Sakura sighed and jumped gracefully off to Syaoran's side. She turned to look at him. "I would prefer it if you did be careful, Syaoran-kun. It's not very good being restless."

"I'll try to be careful next time," Syaoran said, not being able to refuse the Card Mistress. "You want to use the Firey Card on the next box?"

The Card Mistress brightened and nodded. "Let's go!"

Quistis and Selphie dropped down to where everyone else was standing and Yue flew down. They were ready to get to the next box. The voice appeared again. "Go to the path on the left. The right and the path across from the one you came from are not open yet. I will work on the next path to open. Keep up the work!"

Once again, they traveled to the next pathway. They also faced monsters and handled them as usual. When they got to the green gem, Sakura touched it first. Everyone also touched it after. They appeared and saw that Sakura hasn't used her magic yet. She released her magical key and commanded the Firey Card to do her bidding. The box exploded and Sakura leaped to the bottom.

"Good job, Sakura-san!" Syaoran said, leaping after her.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Syaoran-kun. Too bad Tomoyo-san wasn't able to see this."

Syaoran smiled back. "Don't forget, we are wearing her costumes that carry a camera for her to watch. Don't say she can't see it, because she will eventually."

"I forgot," Sakura said.

Quistis and Selphie panted after doing their second jump. "Will you wait for us lowly beings?" Selphie asked, obviously tired of having to jump from very high places. "Not all of us are great jumpers and in wonderful shape, you know."

Yue flew down again, making sure everyone was off the platform. Kero-chan floated, dreaming about dessert. Kero-chan looked at Sakura. "When we get out of here, you have to make me some dessert again, Sakura-san. I'm hungry."

Sakura giggled and nodded. "Whatever you say, but we have two more boxes to unlock. Let's go!"

"Take the one in front of you," The older Eleniak Witch girl said. "I have one more path to unlock. Hurry!"

Yue shrugged at the voice, "I still don't see why I couldn't just fly right into the other box. That would have been easier. Oh, wait, I don't really control the fire element. Oh well."

Syaoran looked at Quistis. "Why don't you take over in front? I'll switch with you and go to the back."

"Sure," Quistis agreed. "I would like to see how to navigate this Millennium Maze. I was wondering how you got us through."

The group traveled once more and this path was shorter than the other two. The green gem glowed even brighter and Quistis reached for it calmly. She disappeared and reappeared into the platform facing the third box. She reached out inside of her for her magic and fire spit out to burn the box. Everyone also appeared to witness the burning box and Sakura jumped down the platform.

Selphie sighed and Syaoran looked at her. Clow's descendant concentrated on his sword and summoned the element of the Wind to aide him. His wind magic flew out to Quistis and Selphie, bringing them to the ground. Quistis looked up at Syaoran in gratitude while Selphie muttered a "thank you". Yue looked questioningly at Syaoran before flying to the ground.

"I wanted to do something," Syaoran explained, "You don't want them to be tired for doing something like this. They might need their strength for later."

Yue nodded, "I can see your point, Syaoran. Well thought of."

Kero-chan, who was at the back of Sakura, yelled out at Syaoran. "Hey, brat! We're in a hurry, here. Come down already!"

"As you command, stuffed animal," Syaoran said, mocking the guardian. He jumped down to the ground and landed on his feet, once again. Selphie made a face at his athletic ability and went ahead.

Sakura and Quistis looked at each other and shrugged. Suddenly, they heard a scream coming from ahead of them. Yue flew past them and headed towards the direction of the scream. Everyone followed suite. What they saw was Selphie backing away from a giant chimera. As the chimera swiped at Selphie, Quistis ran in front of her and made a barrier. The chimera's claw hit the barrier and it came back to swipe something else.

Sakura ran and released her wand. "Fly!" she cried, and wings sprouted from her back. She held up her wand again. "Sword!" and her wand turned into a thin, sharp sword. The Card Mistress flew into the air to attack the chimera.

On the ground, Syaoran summoned the thunder power from his sword. Kerberos appeared and threw fire magic at the monster. Selphie, gaining her momentum, began to summon her strongest limit magic. While everyone else was fighting the monster, Yue examined the monster carefully, looking for any weaknesses. He found one at his heart and prepared to attack.

Selphie, angry at being surprised, stopped Yue from attacking. Instead, she unleashed her energy and used her ultimate limit break. The chimera roared and then disappeared. Selphie panted and smiled. "Not bad, huh? Don't worry, I'm okay."

"That show of power was quite impressive," Kerberos said. Yue frowned and turned away.

Quistis smiled and pulled Selphie with her. "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The fourth platform wasn't far away, and they handled it as well. The voice came back. "I am sorry, I forgot to get rid of the chimera on the fourth path. I must have been working too quickly. Are you guys all right?"

"Yes, we are all fine, and alive," Sakura said, "Now how do we get out of here?"

The voice paused, making it sound as if she didn't know how. Quistis was getting nervous when the voice came back. "Now that you burned all four boxes, a bigger one has appeared in the middle. You have to burn this one, too. Once broken, the door in front of you will open and reveal the exit. After that, the maze will disappear and never be seen again unless summoned by those who know how to summon it."

"Alright, piece of cake," Selphie and Kerberos said in unison. "All we need to do is burn it."

Sakura held out her Firey Card and released it. The box was surrounded completely by fire and the box was burned. A sudden glowing light then filled the door and it opened. The voice spoke for one last time. "Sakura, can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?" Sakura asked, curious.

The voice paused, while everyone but Sakura and Syaoran were left near the door. Quistis told them to be hasty and left. "Can you tell Lilka that I am free? Tell her that I pulled through and waiting in Sielje for her, when she returns from her mission. Thanks to you, I am no longer the prisoner of the Millennium Mazes. I have broken the spell."

Sakura smiled. "I will tell Lilka-san what you told me, and I am glad to help you. Good-bye!"

Syaoran turned to look at the maze again before following Sakura and he turned to go. As the last person came back to the real world, the maze disappeared and Balamb was seen once again. Edea clapped her hands in delight. "Splendid! You have all done it!"

Zell came running towards the group. "Quistis! Selphie! What in the world happened? The last thing I knew, I was eating a hotdog and then everything turned green. I was trapped in this room with my food."

"Squall and I will explain to you when we are settled again, Zell," Selphie said, smiling. "Let's just say that you missed all the fun."

Sakura smiled and looked at her costume with the digital camera. It seems that Tomoyo didn't miss the adventure. Magic or no, she will be able to see the inside of the maze no matter what. Sighing, Sakura turned the camera off. Syaoran noticed this and turned his off too. Kerberos was back to his fake form and Yue lost his wings. The party looked less aggressive than before.

Squall came running from Ragnarok and waved at the group. Quistis and Selphie waved back, happy to see him again. As he came closer, he laughed at Zell's curious face. "So, it seems you all made it in one piece."

"You could say that again," Quistis said, "Listen, we have to return to Mugen Gakuen. The others are waiting for us there."

Syaoran nodded. "I wonder how Tomoyo and Duo are doing with the party. They probably need help by now, having to explain the tremendous damage done by that dinosaur."

Yue shook his head. "All you need to do is turn back time for them, that's all. But worry about that later. It seems Kero-chan is hungry, though."

The guardian was right. So was the rest of the party, who hadn't had anything to eat ever since they entered the maze. It seemed to have taken a long time in the puzzle and they were now mindful of the food they wanted to eat.

"Maybe I should plan what we should eat right away," Sakura said, "Why don't you help me, Li-kun? You're not bad at cooking."

Syaoran sighed. "Whatever you say, Sakura-san."

The two left, leaving Yue and Kero-chan alone with Quistis, Selphie, Edea, Squall, and Zell. Edea looked curiously at Yue. "I have heard of Clow Reed's guardians. You must be Yue, right?" she asked.

"How do you know of Clow Reed?" Yue asked, astonished at the sorceress' knowledge.

Edea smiled. "I have…resources. How else am I a great sorceress without knowing about those even more powerful than me?"

"Edea…" Kero-chan murmured. "I have heard Clow utter that name before. Why…"

Edea turned her attention away from the two guardians and looked at her "children". "Why don't we all go and have something to eat? I must say, trying to keep the portal from closing took a lot from me. A sorceress needs some kind of nourishment."

"On your way, Matron," Squall said. He ran back to the ship and commanded the SeeD members to open up the ship. With that done, he signaled the others to come in and rest.

Selphie, Zell and Quistis ran while Edea walked calmly into the ship. Kero-chan smelled Sakura's cooking and flew quickly to find the source of the smell. Yue hesitated, looking to the place in which the maze was originally in. "Are you testing us, Clow?" he whispered, so only he could hear. The guardian turned and walked into the ship.


	5. Balamb (continued)

Chapter 4 

"I hope Sakura-san is alright," Tomoyo said, concerned. "And I do hope that my cameras weren't damaged."

Duo looked strangely at the girl. "Tomoyo, please calm down. By the time this party is over, they'll be back in one piece to tell us that they had an adventure of their lives."

"Duo's right, Tomoyo," Quatre said, observing an empty table. "Maybe we should all sit down over there. We haven't had any rest, trying to tell those people why the place is a mess."

Lilka nodded in agreement, eyes drooping. "I wish I knew that this was going to happen. That way I could have brought a sleeping bag."

"Now, now," Heero said, "we can't be sleeping in a party. People will notice and question the circumstance."

Lilka yawned. "Whatever."

Duo also yawned. "Now that you mention it, I'm pretty tired myself. I need some rest."

"Why didn't you say so?" Tomoyo said, "My trailer is at the back. You guys can pick a cozy sleeping bag and drag it outside where you guys can rest. It would be easier that way. Besides, I'll just stay here and wait for Sakura-san, Tsukishiro-san, Kero-chan, and Syaoran-kun to return. Will that be alright?"

Duo and Lilka looked at the girl and their jaws dropped. "You're prepared for everything, aren't you? I thought you only brought the costumes and camera, not your whole house," Duo commented.

"I didn't bring my whole house," Tomoyo answered calmly, "I brought whatever I needed for camping, that's all. Extras were reserved for Sakura-san and Syaoran-kun. They usually went with me everywhere."

Lilka chuckled. "Well, as long as I can take a little bit of shut-eye around here, then I'll be a new person."

Heero and Quatre shook their heads. "I think I'll stay with you, Tomoyo. We wouldn't want you to have any trouble handling the people when Sakura and the others show up," Quatre said.

"I'll stay, too," Heero added.

Tomoyo smiled. "You guys are very kind to say so. Are you sure you don't need a sleeping bag? I have two more in the trailer, if you decide to rest."

The two pilots shook their heads again. As the three settled into silence, Duo and Lilka came hurrying back in. Lilka pulled Tomoyo off the seat. "They're back!"

"Where?" Tomoyo asked, excited.

Duo took the gundam pilots' sleeves and pulled them up. "The portal opened up outside! Hurry! They're coming out!"

Tomoyo hurriedly ran outside to meet her best friend and she saw Quistis come out, unruffled. The blonde smiled at Tomoyo and made room for the others to walk in. Yue came next, surprising everyone except Tomoyo and Quistis. He looked at Tomoyo and nodded. "Is everything taken care of here?" he asked.

"Yes, Mr. Tsukishiro," Tomoyo answered, not troubled by the change of appearance. "Some of the people in the party decided to leave, and now only some of them are left."

Yue looked at Kero-chan. "I guess we won't have to worry about stopping time and turning it back, then. Everything seems to be alright." With that, Yue turned back into Yukito.

"Where is Sakura-san and Syaoran-kun?" Tomoyo asked, worried that they didn't make it.

Quistis pointed at the portal. "Those two cooked us lunch as well as dinner, so they're cleaning up and changing. Don't worry, they're coming soon."

Syaoran came out, carrying his costume with him and handing them to Tomoyo. Tomoyo looked at the digital camera and saw that it worked and was used. She rejoiced and thanked Syaoran for video-taping Sakura and their adventure. The Card Mistress then came out, uncomfortable in the clothes given to her from Balamb.

Tomoyo exclaimed at the new clothes Sakura wore. "They are so cute on you! I have to videotape this!" she fumbled in her trailer (which was right next to the portal) and found her regular video camera. The camera whirred and started taping Sakura.

Sakura blushed and handed Tomoyo her costume. "I kind of turned the camera off after the mission, because the battery was running out, and there was nothing left to videotape anyway."

"That's alright, Sakura-san," Tomoyo said, already happy to videotape her friend right there. "As long as I have you and Syaoran-kun in these cameras, then I'll be happy. Today is a very special day!"

Heero and Duo shook their heads, disbelieving the fact that Tomoyo has been cheerful through it all. Sakura forced a laugh and pushed Li to laugh along with her. Syoaran, not understanding what was happening, blinked and turned to go home.

"You're right, Syaoran-kun," Tomoyo said, looking at the sorcerer. "We all should go home and rest a bit. I wouldn't want you adventurers to be all tired and weak. I'll give you guys a ride in my trailer."

Duo grinned and jumped in the driver seat. "At your service, ladies and gentlemen, I'll be your driver for tonight."

"Oh, dear," Lilka said, concerned. "Do you think it's safe to let him drive? I know I would rather walk than trust him to take me home."

Quatre laughed. "Come on, Lilka. Give Duo a chance, he can drive. After all, he wouldn't be a gundam pilot if he couldn't handle machinery."

Duo made a face. "Are you guys going to come in or not? I'm not that patient."

Tomoyo opened the door to her trailer and led everyone inside. She then decided to sit next to the driver's seat and everyone was settled. Duo drove everyone home in a matter of minutes (driving like a madman who was being chased by the police). When done, he dropped Tomoyo off with her trailer and he walked the way home with Quatre and Heero.

"Why didn't you drop us off here instead of us having to walk?" Heero complained. "Tomoyo could have driven to her own house, you know."

Duo shrugged. "I'm trying to be nice to the lady, Heero. Calm down. Anyway, she did do twice as much work as we did when having to explain the situation to the people in the party."

"Duo's right," Quatre agreed. "She needed a little rest from it all."

At that moment, Tomoyo opened up her room and the huge television that adorned the area. She popped the tape from Syaoran's camera in the VCR and watched the adventure in the Millennium Puzzle. She smiled and took up her sewing kit. It seems to be another night to spend her wonderful time making another costume for Sakura.

Meanwhile, two shadowed figures stood behind the tree. One of them revealed to be Thom. He turned to his partner. "You think they'll toughen up for what's to come? The gods don't want weaklings."

"Don't ask me, Thom," his partner mused. "It is your job to teach them, isn't it? All I do is sit and watch until the time comes. So, you're on your own for a while."

Purple eyes glared at the figure. "I figured that's what you'd say. You know, even if you're dead, you still think you're hot stuff, huh?"

"So do you," was the reply.

"Don't make me angry."

"And what will you do about it, O Great Sorcerer? Kill me? I'm already dead!"

Another voice boomed, making the two figures jump. "Enough, you two! I don't need two sorcerers having an altercation right now! Didn't Athena already tell you what you were supposed to be doing?"

Thom nodded, "Yeah…she said to make more portals and such for adventures."

"THEN GO DO IT!" the voice yelled out, making the two figures run out from behind the tree and disappear into the night.

****

The Card Mistress sighed as she lay down on her bed. Kero-chan was already asleep, but she couldn't get any sleepy. She suddenly remembered what Lilka's sister had told her. Quickly, Sakura dialed the phone number to Lilka's house. Lilka answered.

"Lilka?" Sakura asked. "Great, I have to tell you something. It's about the adventure we had."

The young sorceress perked up from her sleepiness and sat up on her bed at the other side of the phone. "What about the adventure?"

Sakura paused. "Well, it had something to do about a Millennium Puzzle…"

"A Millennium Puzzle?" Lilka asked, her attention now fully awakened. "Did my sister talk to you? If she did, what did she say?"

Sakura explained everything that went on and what has happened to her sister. The Card Mistress felt Lilka relax on the other line. "My sister is in Sielje? Wonderful! I'll go and see her as soon as possible. I'm sure she'll be happy to see me."

"I'm sure she will, Lilka," Sakura said, reassuring her friend. "I'm sure she will."


	6. Pacifist Trouble

Chapter 5 

Tomoyo woke up, rubbing her eyes. She looked at the work she had finished during the night. The girl smiled happily, thinking about how nice the costume would look on her friend. Noticing that it was still very early, Tomoyo walked to her bed and fell asleep once again.

Light appeared in Tomoyo's room. The girl woke up, wondering what it could be. She approached the light to find a woman standing in the middle of it. The woman seemed to be dazed at how she got there. She looked at Tomoyo and proceeded to ask a question.

"Excuse me," the woman said. "But can you please tell me how I got here and where I am?"

Tomoyo, not knowing the answer to the first question, answered the second one. "You're in my mansion, located in Tokyo, Japan. As for how you got here, ma'am, I have no idea either."

The woman looked around the room and her glasses gleamed in the sparkling light. "Forgive me for not introducing myself, my name is Lady Une. Somehow, I was doing a little bit of work, and then this light appeared in my office. I went for a closer look and here I am."

"Maybe I should call Sakura-san and Syaoran-kun," Tomoyo suggested. "If they don't know how you came here, then Sakura-san's guardians might."

Sakura and Li arrived shortly, with Li yawning momentarily. He peeked in to see Lady Une examining the house. Syaoran looked for Tomoyo and found her. "Is that the problem?"

"She isn't really a problem," Tomoyo protested. "I just want to help her out by knowing how she got to my mansion."

Lady Une turned to see the two magicians looking at her. "You must be Tomoyo's friends. Hello, I'm Lady Une."

Sakura smiled and introduced Li and herself. Next the Card Mistress asked the woman to retell the story on what she remembered before she got transported to Japan. Lady Une answered the same way she explained to Tomoyo. "That was about it, I'm afraid. I don't know what happened between the time period that elapsed between the time I looked at the light and the time until I got here. Sorry to be of no help whatsoever."

"Hang on," Syaoran said. "I think we have something here. A bright light, then she was brought here… But she doesn't remember what happened between the amounts of time it took her to get here. I think it's the work of someone powerful, I can tell you that much."

The woman smiled. "I thank you for specifying this, but I want to know how."

Sakura shook her head. "Sometimes the concepts of sorcery are too hard to explain and grasp for people who don't use it."

"I understand. This has to do with magic," Lady Une said. "I've never seen or believed it to exist. Until a few people I knew proved it to exist on the extraordinary ones, I had no idea that magic such as this can be seen. I mean, we all depend on machines up in space…"

As Lady Une trailed off in her thinking, Tomoyo thought of something. "Who are these people who proved that magic did exist?"

The woman came back to reality, "Hmm? Oh, yes, these people were gundam pilots, and they moved to somewhere in Japan, I don't know where, though."

"Gundam pilots?" Sakura and Syaoran asked at the same time. They looked at Tomoyo, who reached quickly for the phone.

The singer took the phone from its original place and excused herself from the rest. Tomoyo ran into the bedroom and shut the door. Then she dialed her friend's number. "Duo-kun? Is that you?"

"…Yeah, Tomoyo?" Duo said, after a pause. "Why'd you call this early?"

Tomoyo sighed and began, "Are you and your friends gundam pilots?"

"…Yeah," Duo said again, this time pausing for a few seconds. "Quatre, Heero and two other guys like me are gundam pilots. Why so interested now?"

"Look, there is this lady who mentioned gundam pilots and she said that they moved to Japan. Do you know her?"

"I might, Tomoyo," Duo answered, feeling puzzled. "What's her name?"

"She called herself Lady Une…"

Duo interrupted her, "Lady Une?! Where is she? How did she get to you? Why is she here?"

This time, it was Tomoyo who repeated the story for Duo to hear. The gundam pilot listened carefully and didn't interrupt his girlfriend for anything. After Tomoyo finished, Duo signaled Heero and Quatre, who had been looking at Duo intently as he yelled out Lady Une's name in surprise, to go outside. Then he went back to his conversation. "Look, we'll be right there, Tomoyo. Heero, Quatre and I are leaving right now to go to your house. Don't tell her we're coming, though."

"I see, Duo-kun," Tomoyo said, glad that he will come right away. "I'll see you then, bye."

The two people hang up and Tomoyo went back downstairs to witness Sakura and Lady Une in a conversation. Syaoran yawned, bored at what he was listening to and turned to Tomoyo. "So, did you settle things with him?"

Tomoyo nodded but put her finger to her lips. She whispered to Syaoran, "Don't tell Lady Une that they will be coming here as soon as possible."

"Sure, whatever you say," Li answered, not really very interested at whether or not he should tell Lady Une or not. He stared at the doorway and shook his head. "They're coming this way, I think. I can hear their footsteps."

The doorbell rang and Sakura jumped to answer it. Quatre's head poked in and it spotted Lady Une immediately. He rushed to her. "Lady Une! What are you doing here?"

"Quatre?" Lady Une asked, astonished to see him here. "I thought I told you to lay low…Is Heero and Duo here as well?"

The two other pilots entered the house. Duo went to stand next to Tomoyo and nodded to her. "I see that you took care of her before we got here. Thanks, Tomoyo. I owe you one."

"No problem, Duo-kun," Tomoyo smiled. "It was not very disturbing to find someone appear in your bedroom. Besides, I've dealt with more serious things."

Quatre chuckled and turned his attention back to Lady Une. "Care to walk with us to our school? You know, it isn't the weekends and all of us still have to go to high school."

"I'll do just that, Quatre," Lady Une replied. "You all go to the same school? Or different ones?"

Tomoyo looked at Duo and smiled. "Yeah, all of us go to Mugen Gakuen."

Duo nodded and looked at his two friends. "I'll be seeing you then, Quatre, Heero. Classes for Tomoyo and I will start in a while. Take care of Lady Une. Oh, and Heero, take care of yourself."

"Why?" Heero asked, not knowing what Duo was talking about. "Why should I take care?"

The American gundam pilot shrugged. "If Lady Une ended up being transported here, who knows, maybe Ms. Peacecraft might end up here as well."

At the mention of Releana, Heero frowned and turned to walk out the door. He looked back at Duo and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, Duo Maxwell. If I see any suspicious beings, I will avoid it immediately. You should too, Quatre."

"Whatever you say," Quatre said, grinning. "But I don't have to be that careful, seeing that it isn't me that pacifist is after."

Lady Une smiled at his words and followed Heero out the door. Quatre waved at the others and left along with Heero and the woman. Syaoran yawned again and shrugged. "Should we be heading to school, too? I don't feel like it today."

Sakura scowled at Li. "You know perfectly well we have to. You know you want to, anyway. There's a soccer match today, and you said you wouldn't want to miss it, since you know you can take the other team down."

"Yes, Syaoran-kun," Tomoyo agreed. "You are splendid at sports, just like Sakura-san, and you should show your opponent just how great you are."

Li blushed at the compliment. "No need to rub it in, let's go Sakura-san."

Tomoyo sighed. "Speaking of sports, I haven't seen Kinomoto-san and Tsukishiro-san play for a while. Since Sakura-san's brother moved on to professional soccer, we haven't seen him very much."

"What about Yukito?" Duo asked. "I know for a fact with Yue as his true form, he is very good in physical activities."

"As a matter of fact," Tomoyo smiled at the memory of Yukito beating the best of the Tomoeda basketball players without any effort at all. "He could beat a whole team by himself if he wanted to. He is one of the best I've ever seen. Yet…"

Duo wondered at the pause. "Yet what?"

"I haven't heard of him joining any professional league. Sakura-san says that he gets transferred to any sports team of his picking. Sometimes he even plays two or three kinds of sports in the year."

Duo whistled. "Three professional sports, and being the star player…I would wonder what he does with all the money he gets."

Tomoyo smiled. "I would think half of it is buying the food he eats every day. You know how hungry Tsukishiro-san is. Besides food, he usually treats all of us out to eat with him. I don't know why, because I could do the same thing. Even Sakura and Syaoran make enough money to buy a mansion."

"You people are a set of moneymakers then. Good thing I stuck with you, Tomoyo," Duo said. "Now come on, or we'll be late."

"Let me get ready first," Tomoyo said and ran up the stairs to change (she was still in the clothes she had on the night before.)

Duo sighed. "This is going to be a very interesting day."

****

Heero sighed, after sitting down to eat his lunch. Quatre and Lady Une were conversing on the other side of the table. The gundam pilot didn't like how his day had turned out. "We really have to get you back to Germany, or wherever you have to go, Lady Une."

"You're in a great hurry to get rid of me, Heero," Lady Une said, not offended at the gundam pilot's rude remark. "Don't you want to bring me sightseeing in Tokyo? I want to see the features of this city, you know. It seems nice enough."

Quatre smiled and nodded to her. "I'll make sure you see the whole of Tokyo before you leave. I'll even show you Tokyo Tower. There, is that enough for you?"

"That's wonderful, Quatre," Lady Une said, gratified. "You're so nice, unlike some scowling creature in front of me."

Heero in turn scowled at this change of plan. "You are not dragging me along on this sightseeing trip. I'd rather walk to America and back than do this."

Lady Une shook her head. "Too bad. If that's the way you feel, then Quatre and I will leave you to sulk on your own, Heero. Say, Quatre, when is school over?"

"Heero and I usually get a pardon to leave school after lunch, considering that we don't have any problems with our school work. I'm majoring in Music and Mr. Uncongenial over here is majoring in professional computer technology. You know how great he is at computers," Quatre explained.

Heero looked calmly at Quatre. "No need to explain everything to her, Quatre. She doesn't want to know why we're here."

Lady Une looked up and smiled. "Of course I don't. I know why you guys are here in the first place. Wasn't I the one who assigned you this mission? Well, anyway, how about Duo? What is he majoring in?"

"Duo?" Quatre asked. "I've never given that a thought. I don't know, do you, Heero?"

"As a matter of fact," Heero said, exasperated at the conversation. "He's only going along to this high school because Tomoyo made him. He doesn't really care what he majors in. I think he closed his eyes and picked a subject."

Quatre and Lady Une laughed. The two stood up and left, still chattering about where to go and what to do. Heero sighed and walked out of the lunchroom, not noticing a white light glowing in the distance. The light grew bigger, allowing a figure to pass through it and walk out. This figure spotted Heero and the figure ran towards him.

"Heero! Heero Yuy!" the figure cried, turning some heads around to see what's going on. "Wait for me!"

The gundam pilot turned to see who was calling him and he turned pale. It was Releana Peacecraft. The pacifist caught up to Heero, panting and trying to catch her breath. "I'm so glad I found you, Heero. I didn't know where you went, and since Lady Une's disappearance, I checked her room and found this light. So I went in and came out here. Where is everybody?"

Heero turned around and ignored the panting girl. He then walked a little more briskly and started to jog. Releana wasn't going to be put out by Heero's ignoring her, and so she walked and jogged along with him. She then began to ask him where she was, how he was, where he was living, whether Duo and Quatre were with him, and other questions. The gundam pilot wouldn't answer a question she placed upon him. This frustrated Releana and so she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards a restaurant.

"Heero, let's go there to eat! I'm hungry," Releana said. "Please?"

"…" Heero replied. He pulled his arm away from her and started to run now. When he turned the corner, with Releana following him, he saw Quatre and Lady Une. "Quatre! Lady Une! I need some assistance!."

Quatre immediately looked at what the problem was and seeing Releana try to grab Heero and run off to another place. Lady Une also turned and she laughed at the distress Heero was feeling. She turned to Quatre. "Should we help him?"

"I think we should," Quatre said, feeling pity for his friend. "We shouldn't tell Ms. Peacecraft where this place is, or we'll never get rid of her. Come on, before she brings him to his death."

The two ran after the infuriated Heero, who was now in the verge of punching Releana's lights out. As he raised his hand to do so, Quatre grabbed his arm and Lady Une pulled Releana away.

Releana looked puzzled. "Lady Une? Where are we? Are we near Europe at all?"

"No, we are in…" Lady Une hesitated, thinking of a place that contained Japanese cultures.

Quatre spoke up, "We're in the United States, Miss Releana. We are in a Japanese neighborhood, actually. It's called Nadesiko Village."

Heero and Lady Une raised their eyebrows at Quatre's quick thinking. Quatre shrugged and said in Japanese, "At least she doesn't know where we are."

Releana didn't pay attention to Quatre's murmurs to Lady Une and Heero, and so looked around to confirm Quatre's information. Since she couldn't read or speak Japanese, she didn't know what they said (conclusively, she was speaking English all this time).

Lady Une shook her head, a little confused. She wasn't very used to speaking in Japanese, being that she only learned it a little when she was in high school, and now she had to relearn her skills. At least she understood some of what Quatre said.

Heero shook his head and continued the conversation in Japanese. "We have to get her out of here, before she finds out where we are. Otherwise, I'll never get any peace."

The other two nodded and started to whisper to each other. Releana, finally feeling suspicious, listened, or tried to listen, to their conversation. "What are you two whispering about? Tell me!"

"Oh, um…" Quatre said, transferring his speaking terms to English. He looked sideways at Heero. "We were talking about how much you would like to tour around with us, since you haven't been here, I presume."

"Oh, I would love to!" Releana replied. "Heero, are you going too?"

Heero sighed and nodded his head. But first, he turned to Quatre and whispered to him, "We should probably get Duo and his friends to help us real fast. If they don't get out of here in a hurry, then we're in trouble."

"How do we get them out, though?" Quatre asked. "We can't use air, or else Releana will know what part of the continent we are in. That won't be very practical."

"I know, that's why we have to bring them back by magic," Heero replied. "And I know a couple of people who can. Look, you wait here with these two. I'll go get Quistis and Lilka. They probably know what to do."

Quatre protested. "What about Duo and his gang?"

Heero shrugged. "You should be heading towards them right away. Summon up Sakura and Li, just in case things get out of hand and something jumps out at us."

"Roger, Heero," Quatre answered. "Get going then."

With that, Heero waved good-bye and ran as fast as he can towards Lilka's house. Releana looked puzzled. "Where is Heero going?"

"He's off to pick up two people," Quatre answered, sighing. He looked at Lady Une and the pacifist. "Come on, we better get going, too. We have to meet Duo and his friends in back in school. Let's hurry, otherwise we'll never get there on time."

****

"And that's what happened?" Quistis asked, not believing that Heero was running from a girl. "You want us to get two people out of the country as fast as you can, because some pacifist will never leave you alone?"

Lilka giggled and nodded her head. "That's what he explained to me. Should we help him, Quistis?"

"I could always ask Sakura and Syaoran for help, you know," Heero said, calmly. "They have greater kinds of magic power than you do."

Quistis shook her head. "You don't understand. They might have more power, but they don't have the skill to do certain things, such as send your people back to the place they belong to. That requires the work of someone who has transported between places before."

Lilka thought, and came up with an idea. "Say, I'll have Tim transport here with a Teleport Gem so they can travel without us having to use magic. How about that?"

"Will that work without any mishaps?" Heero asked concerned. "I don't care what happens to Releana, but Lady Une must not be harmed from this process."

Quistis looked at Heero. "What makes this woman important?"

"She's got information that not many people have. With knowledge like that, she could probably talk her way into many things. Trust me, she has had many experiences. And…she's essential to our well-being."

Lilka lifted up her wand and her wand glowed. "Don't worry, Heero. The Teleport Gem won't backfire on you. It's a Teleport Orb that might backfire. But unless you want this Releana to come back, I might advice you not to use the Teleport Orb."

"A Teleport Gem is fine," Heero said decidedly.

"Whatever you say," Lilka said, concentrating on trying to contact her friend.

A figure appeared at the end of her crystal rod. He looked about 2 years younger than Lilka, and his eyes flashed at Lilka's appearance. "Hey, Lilka. What's up?"

"Look, Tim," Lilka explained. "Can you come over here and bring over a Teleport Gem? Go use my Teleport Orb if you want, but just bring me a Teleport Gem. I'll explain everything later."

Tim nodded, not asking any questions and waved at Lilka then vanished. A minute later, the figure in the crystal appeared, holding something up. He looked a bit taller than Lilka, though he was younger.

"The Gem is right here, Lilka," Tim said. "So, why all this hurry?"

Lilka looked gratified at Tim and handed the Gem to Heero. "Thanks, Tim." Turning to Heero, "All you need to do is to touch a human and name the place you want to return to. Then you and the person will get transported to the place. Easy, huh? Just give this to Lady Une, and all she has to do is grab hold of Releana, and then you're done."

"That's it?" Quistis asked. "If this was it, then why did I even bother trying to help?"

Tim shook his head. "I don't think it's that easy, Lilka. It might be easy for those who use magic, since they do it all the time, but for non-magic users, it's kind of harder."

"What do you mean?" Lilka asked, frowning. "When I wasn't on the team, Ashley and Brad were still able to transport somewhere else…"

"That was because Marivel and I were usually with them and we transported them," Tim answered. "And besides, Ashley had the beast within him, then. He could have transported without our help."

Lilka frowned again. "Oh well. So much for easy stuff. Now what do we do?"

"We'll figure that out when we get to the place where we're supposed to meet them," Heero said. "Hurry up, Quatre and the others are waiting for us."

Tim hesitated. "Should I follow you?"

"Will you?" Lilka asked. "If you want, then you could. Otherwise, how would you be able to get an explanation?"

Lilka's friend laughed. "Very funny, Lilka. I knew I wouldn't get an answer out of you unless I had to participate in it."

Quistis opened the door and walked out, leaving her door open. "Come on, or I'll lock you guys in."

"We're coming, Quistis," Lilka cried out, running out the door, pulling Tim with her. "See? I just had to fix my friend here, and he's coming with us."

Heero and Quistis looked at each other. Heero shrugged. "Whatever."

****

"We're here," Sakura said, smiling brightly at Lady Une and the new stranger that Quatre has brought. "Hello, Lady Une, Quatre-kun. Who is the new person?"

Releana walked up to them and held up her hand. "I'm Releana Peacecraft, the daughter of the Peacecraft family and ruler of the Sank Kingdom. I, as a pacifist, say hello to you in these matters. How do you do?"

Syaoran, listening to each word the pacifist said, looked questioningly at Quatre. He spoke in Japanese, "What is this one doing here?"

"She kind of got here by accident," Lady Une answered. "We weren't expecting her."

Sakura looked the girl over and smiled nervously. She held up her hand to shake Releana's and shakily spoke English. "Hello. My name is Sakura. The friend next to me is Li. How long are you going to stay in T…"

"She'll be staying in the United States only for today, I'm afraid," Quatre said, loudly. "Lady Une and she are leaving as soon as Heero, Duo, and the others get here."

Syaoran, hearing the story from Lady Une, went to Sakura and spoke in his dialect. "This Releana is not supposed to know that this place is Tokyo. Don't tell her."

"Okay, Li-kun," Sakura said, smiling again. "I'm so nervous. I'm very bad at English. I've never been to America before."

Syaoran sighed. "Don't worry, just try your best. Call Tomoyo and tell her to come here. When she gets here, we might have someone who can speak fluent English, considering that she went to the US."

"Hai!" Sakura agreed. She opened up her telephone and dialed Tomoyo's number. "Konnichiwa, Tomoyo-san."

As Sakura spoke the conversation in Japanese, it was up to Syaoran to carry her conversation. "So, how did you like the city, Releana?"

"It's lovely," Releana complimented. "Nadesiko Village is a very nice place, seeing that Heero and you guys picked this place for schooling. Maybe I might just move here and take school here myself."

Lady Une laughed. "There's one problem, Miss Releana. Everyone here speaks Japanese. You won't be able to learn anything if you don't speak Japanese."

"Then how was everyone in the world able to hear my words as Queen Releana?" Releana asked, knowing that she spoke English.

Quatre sighed. "That's because English is the spoken language around the world, and everyone here understands English. Why do you think Syaoran and Sakura were able to understand and talk to you?"

Syaoran smirked. "So, were you the girl that spoke about keeping peace?"

"Yes, I was," the pacifist said proudly. "And my thoughts have not altered at all."

Li grinned silently. He knew about the foolish pacifist who tried to get the people to put down their weapons. He was only 15 when this happened, and he wasn't interested enough. His main interest back then was finishing his school year in Hong Kong so he could transfer to Tomoeda for the rest of his life. At that time, everyone in his family, including himself, thought the blonde pacifist foolish for commanding the people to put the weapons down. It seemed wrong to rid the people of their defenses.

Heero ran, with Lilka, Tim and Quistis behind. He looked at Quatre and nodded. "Are the two coming?"

"Yes, Sakura is calling Tomoyo right now, I think," Quatre answered. He added, "It seems that Syaoran is having a hard time keeping a conversation with Miss Releana. Maybe you should help him."

Syaoran scowled. "I don't need much help, thank you very much. I'm fine. Anyway, who is the new stranger, Lilka-san?"

"His name is Tim, Syaoran," Lilka said. "Be nice, will you? He's here to help with the momentary problem."

Li shrugged. "Whatever you say, Lilka-san. As long as we get out of here in a hurry. I have soccer practice to attend."

"If you mind," Heero said, "We have bigger business to attend to. Take her for example."  
"Heero!" Releana said, turning from Syaoran. "There you are! Who did you bring?"

Quistis and Lilka stepped up. Lilka smiled. "Is this the girl Heero said was trouble?" she said in Japanese.

"I would think she's the one," Quistis said. "Unless the other one is obsessed with Heero, she is hiding it very well."

Tim shook his head. "She'll be the one who we're going to have a hard time in bringing back to her place? Thank goodness I don't have to put up with her myself."

Sakura said good-bye to Tomoyo and hung up her phone. She smiled at Heero and said, "Duo and Tomoyo are coming right away. They'll be here in a few minutes."

"Great," Heero said.

Releana, being quite suspicious, frowned at Sakura. She didn't like it that the emerald-eyed brunette was smiling at Heero that way. The pacifist grabbed Heero's elbow and glared at Sakura. "Don't touch him you hear? Heero's my boyfriend. Go find your own."

"Touchy, touchy," Quistis commented, making Lilka and Tim burst into laughter.

Sakura blushed and Syaoran lifted an eyebrow. Seeing Sakura's uncomfortable expression, Syaoran stepped in. "Don't worry, Releana, Sakura-san has no interest in Heero. She's already loyal to someone else," he murmured in English.

"She does?" Releana said, relieved. She knew that if Sakura had found interest in Heero, she could have had a better chance than the pacifist. "Good, at least for now."

Heero sighed and looked at Lilka and Quistis, speaking in Japanese. "See this? She won't leave me alone. She can't take a hint that I don't like her. Even telling her that I'm getting a girlfriend won't work."

"You tried to tell her?" Quistis asked, teasing. "With your attributes, it's a surprise that you told her."

The gundam pilot shook his head. "I didn't. There weren't any other girls that would cooperate. That's why Quatre and I left to go here."

Lilka, Sakura, and Quistis looked at each other. The three girls laughed and Lilka, forming a mischievous idea in her head, pushed Quistis forward. The blonde sorceress fell over and Heero caught her in his arms. Now, you could see the faces of the people who were surprised. Sakura winked at Lilka and went along with the con. Tim applauded at the performance and gave them an encore. Lilka was smiling widely and shook her head when she thought of how much Duo would have loved to see this.

Two people, however, were jealous. It was obvious that Releana was infuriated at this, but Quatre was also unhappy at the incident. Quistis, embarrassed at being the center of attention, pulled herself out of Heero's grasp and went back to where she was standing. She glared at Lilka, who was grinning from ear to ear. "Nice job, Miss Eleniak. Why didn't you do that yourself?"

"I felt that I needed a laugh," Lilka answered, still looking at Heero's reaction.

Heero was very embarrassed and he turned to face Lady Une, who was trying to hide a smile. His embarrassment was worsened by Duo, who came along, whistling at Heero. "Way to go, Heero! I knew you would get the girl sooner or later!"

Tomoyo laughed and walked along Sakura. She glanced at Lady Une, and smiled. "So, how has the day been?"

"Swell," Lady Une smiled back, still standing next to the ruffled Quatre. "Though, if you ask me, some people don't feel the way I do."

"Oh?" Tomoyo asked, knowing why. "I certainly agree with you. Now, let's get on with this business. Why did you need us here?"

Quatre, snapping out of the momentarily lapse of jealousy, explained their trouble in Japanese. Tomoyo nodded while everything was explained and then turned to Syaoran, who has kept quiet through the whole Quistis-Heero event. "Ran out of English phrases to entertain the blonde guest?"

"You could say that again," Syaoran replied, sighing. "Every time I tried to start a conversation with her, she keeps turning around to see if Heero is still here. Talk about obsessed."

Tomoyo laughed and raised her hands, holding up her video camera. "Don't worry, Syaoran-kun, I'll handle the rest."

Duo came up. "Look, Heero explained what we have to do. Since Lilka's friend has the gem to bring Lady Une and Releana back to Europe, all Tomoyo has to do is to pretend that she wants a shot at the famous pacifist and general. When that happens, Lady Une will grab hold of Releana and she tells the gem where to go. The both of them will transport to Europe, and Releana will never know that we aren't in the US. Now, isn't that a brilliant idea?"

"There is one problem," Tim spoke up. "The gem won't work without someone who possesses a magical ability. Otherwise, the gem is useless."

Quatre snapped his fingers. "Why don't you go with them? Besides, you have another one that doesn't disappear, don't you?"

"Yes, but…" Tim protested. "Oh, alright, I'll go."

Lilka looked concerned. "Tim, you'll come back here when you finish with what you do, okay?"

"Sure," Tim sighed. "Besides, your Teleport Orb won't disappear at all. What was the point of giving them a Teleport Gem? If I go, then the Teleport Gem would be useless."

Quistis held out her hand. "Give me the Teleport Gem. And when you get back to where you belong, bring me back as much Teleport Gems as you can. They might be handy for me, since I would like to travel back to Balamb for a while."

"You miss him, don't you?" Sakura inquired. "I mean, he was a nice enough guy. Do you think the Rinoa woman is like Releana at all, chasing him all over the place?"

The blonde sorceress chuckled. "Believe me, if you put them together, it would be the worst thing you could find on two feet."

"What on earth are you guys talking about?" Releana suddenly asked, kept out of the conversation. She seemed to be getting frustrated.

Tomoyo smiled and held up her camera. "Mind if I catch the great pacifist and her general on video tape?"

"Sure," Lady Une readily agreed, clutching at Tim's cloak. "I'll do whatever you say if Tim over here will come and stand here with us. Ready, Miss Releana?"

Releana, struck at the idea of being in video tape, agreed immediately. As Tim got closer to Lady Une, the jewel glowed a brilliant emerald color. Lady Une tried to hide the glow from Releana, making sure that she was oblivious of what was happening behind her. Tomoyo got her video camera ready and held it up. She was smiling as Tim held up the jewel and Lady Une cried out the name of the place where they had to return to. The three people vanished, and Tomoyo turned her camera off.

"So, did u get them in your video camera?" Sakura asked.

Tomoyo shook her head. "I didn't press the record button. It didn't seem worth recording, unlike you and the others. I only wanted to see Tim-san use that jewel. He seemed special enough."

"I don't know, but that was kind of cold," Duo replied. "You were being mean, when you said that Lady Une wasn't worth video taping."

"No, you misunderstand her, Duo-san," Sakura said, defending her friend, "Tomoyo-san is never cold to people, even when they are evil. What she meant was that she didn't want to waste her tapes on them more. It's more like she wants to save them for the adventures we will partake soon."

Quatre nodded. "I see, Sakura. Now I understand. No wonder you hardly use the video camera around the school anymore."

"Enough of this," Heero said, relieved of the great stress that was gone. "I have to go back to school. There's a basketball tournament going on and I'm going to be late."

Syaoran nodded. "I have soccer, too. I'll see you later, Sakura-san."

"Bye, Syaoran-kun," Sakura said, and Heero and Li left the area.

Lilka looked around. "I have to wait around and see if Tim gets back safely. You guys can go if you want."

Quistis shook her head. "I think I should stay with you in case some trouble comes up."

"Are you guys going to be alright?" Quatre asked. "I would stay, but I have to go back to campus, or the teachers might wonder what I do with my free time."

Duo looked at Tomoyo. "So, are you going to stay with them? If you like, I'll pick you guys up later and we'll have dinner with the others."

"Thanks for the idea, Duo-kun," Tomoyo said gratefully, "I'm sure everyone would love it. Where will we meet you?"

The pilot shrugged. "Anywhere in the corner of this street is fine, I think. So, I'll see you girls later."

Quistis, Lilka, Sakura, and Tomoyo waited for the appearance of Tim. The guy appeared, panting. Lilka looked worried. "Tim, what happened?"

"When we got there," Tim began, "Lady Une thanked me and left immediately. Releana looked puzzled at the event and started to scream at me. She wanted to know where Heero was and I held up the Teleport Orb. She grabbed the Orb from me and ran. Then she held it up and screamed the name of the place you gave her. When it didn't work, she was going to throw the Orb to the floor. I became desperate then."

Lilka placed her hand on Tim's shoulder. "Poor Tim, what did you do?"

"Well…" Tim hesitated.

Sakura and Quistis looked at each other. "I hope you didn't hurt her," Sakura asked worried.

"She may be a nuisance to many people, but that doesn't mean that you could hurt someone," Tomoyo said.

Tim shook his head. "I put her to sleep in the middle of the entrance of the building. I hope the people see her before she gets stepped on. Then I grabbed the Orb and teleported back here. That was a hard job."

"Oh, is that it?" Lilka asked, grinning. "Well, that's not bad."

Quistis laughed. "That's typical of you, Lilka. You wouldn't care what happened to that girl. I presume that you will be leaving soon, Tim?"

"Oh, not until tonight, I'm afraid," Tim answered. "I promised Marina that I won't get back until tomorrow. That way she didn't have to cook an extra portion. It seemed that she needed less work, considering all the stress she has to put up with."

Lilka looked surprised. "Then where will you be staying?"

"Where?" Tim asked. "I don't know, maybe in a hotel or an inn. Do they have one of those in Tokyo?"

Quistis held up her hand. "And have you wreck the building with your magical powers? I would rather that you stay in Lilka and my apartment."

"What?!" Lilka cried. "Where would he sleep? What would he eat? In our apartment?"

Sakura and Tomoyo grinned at each other. Somehow when Quistis proposed something, there was no stopping her. The two girls waited for the reasons that would follow Lilka's questions.

"He'd sleep in the couch," Quistis answered crossly, "I'll enlarge it for his convenience. As for his food, Duo is treating us, remember? I'm sure one extra person won't hurt anyone. Yes, in our apartment, if you don't mind. Besides, isn't he your friend? I'm surprised you didn't think of letting him stay in our apartment."

Tim looked back and forth at the two arguing girls and looked puzzled. "I can't see why you are arguing about my stay in Tokyo. I mean, come on, Lilka. I saw your so-called apartment. I'm surprised you don't call it a house. Something that big could fit some of your friends."

"Exactly," Quistis said, feeling victorious. "And I insist that Tim stay with us."

Lilka, looking defeated, "Alright, but he has to sleep in the couch."

Sakura shook her head. "I don't see why you make such a big deal out of it. I mean, Tomoyo-san would be pretty lonely living alone by herself. She wouldn't mind having a visitor or two."

"Alright already," Lilka said, frustrated that no one took her side. "Tim could stay in the apartment."

"House," Tom corrected her. "It is a house."

Lilka glared at her friend and walked along the sidewalk. She turned around. "Hurry up! Duo might come back in an hour or two. We should do something before he gets here."

"Coming, Lilka-san!" Tomoyo said, running after her, camera open and ready to record. "Sakura-san! Quistis-san! Tim-kun! Hurry up and let's go to the movies!"

Thom and Setsuna turned up around the corner, with the sorcerer holding a bunch of boxes to cover himself. His purple eyes watched the teenagers bound up to the next block. Looking at Setsuna, he noticed that the senshi was also looking at the chosen ones.

Setsuna smiled, to the sorcerer's astonishment. "They surely will do, Thom. If it isn't their individual powers, it's the power they have when they work together. So, what's the next test?"

"The hardest we can think of," Thom muttered, unable to concentrate on anything else but carrying the boxes with him. "You know, you shouldn't have bought all these things. It's quite annoying."


	7. Tomoyo's Mansion Trouble

Chapter 6 

"Good morning!" Quistis yelled out, joyfully. "Lilka, wake up! Tim is leaving today!"

Lilka grumbled under her breath. "I'll wake up in ten minutes. Give me a break. It's Saturday, for goodness' sake."

Tim yawned, coming out of the kitchen. He looked around and saw Lilka asleep in the living room couch. Quistis was up, trying to wake the Crest Sorceress up. "Come on, Lilka! It's no good staying like that! Look, Tim wants to go back to sleep. Do you want him to sleep on your bed?"

"I'm up! I'm up!" Lilka said, head shooting straight up. "What a trick to wake me up, Quistis. I don't appreciate that."

Tim chuckled at this event and went back in the kitchen. He zapped himself some toast and came back out, carrying three cups of coffee and breakfast for the two women. "Here, I thought you guys might be hungry."

"At least you could be of some use here," Lilka said, brightening. "Thanks, Tim. When are you leaving for Marina's place?"

"In a few hours, I think," Tim said. "I just wanted to make sure you got some breakfast. That's to thank you for the roof over my head last night, and the dinner."

Quistis smiled. "No problem, Tim. You did help Heero and the gundam pilots in their crisis. We appreciate that."

"No problem. Glad to be of some assistance," Tim said. "Hey, Lilka, do you think I should call Irving and tell him I'm okay?"

Lilka nodded. "Tell him I give my regards and will come back as soon as possible. Oh, and Tim, can you go to Sielje Region and say hello to my sister?"

"Sister?" Tim asked. "I though you said she was stuck in the Millennium Puzzles."

Lilka explained the story of her sister's freedom and Tim smiled. "Well, the Eleniak sisters are going to be a great asset to ARMS."

"Thanks, Tim," Lilka blushed at the compliment. "Shouldn't you contact them now?"

Tim shrugged. "How can I? Usually, it was I who used the contact spell. I think only Marivel can talk to us now. I wouldn't want to bother her, though. I'll leave now and I'll talk to you later, Lilka. Bye."

The young man walked out the door waving good-bye to them. Lilka waved back and sank back into the couch. "Now I could return to my normal but crazy life with you. Why couldn't Tim stay a little bit longer?"

"You were the one who objected the stay in the first place," Quistis remarked. "Now you want him to stay longer?"

A knock came from the door. Quistis went to answer it, only to be greeted by Quatre and Heero. Quatre smiled. "Hello, is Tim still here?"

"I'm afraid he left a few minutes ago," Quistis said, curious to find the two gundam pilots looking for Tim. "Why do you want to know if he is still here?"

Heero shook his head. "We wanted to gratefully thank him for getting rid of Releana for us. It was great help. I just hope she doesn't come back."

Quistis thought about what Heero said and thought of something. "How did she get here?"

"Somehow, a portal opened up and brought Releana here. The same thing brought Lady Une here as well," Quatre answered.

Lilka joined the conversation. "My question is why these magical portals are suddenly appearing out of nowhere. I mean, even Quistis' friend Squall was a surprise."

The blonde sorceress agreed. "I asked Squall how he got to Tokyo and he couldn't answer. He said something about finding a portal that opened up."

"What is even more weird is that the portal leads back in Tokyo," Heero added. "Do you think Sakura or Syaoran would know about it?"

"I don't know, but let's go find out," Lilka said, rushing back in and changing. "Wait inside while I get myself ready."

Quistis let Quatre and Heero in then left them to change herself. Quatre looked around the house and smiled. "This place looks like my summer house in Europe. Doesn't it?"

"Why would I care, Quatre?" Heero implied. "You hardly stay there anyway. Why would you care how it looks like?"

The other pilot shrugged. "Just trying to start a conversation. It's kind of too awkward to stay silent. How long does it take those two to change anyway?"

Heero smiled a little. "As long as you take to change."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Quatre asked crossly, "I don't take this long. I just want to look neat, that's all."

"Sure, Quatre, whatever you say."

"Take that back, Heero!"

"Take what back?"

"Now you're irritating me."

"You wanted to start a conversation."

Quistis peeked to see the two men arguing and interrupted. "So, have you guys eaten breakfast yet?"

The two gundam pilots turned to see Quistis and they stopped arguing. Quatre answered that they were fine and took a bite to eat on the way to their house. Duo was still asleep and they didn't want to wake him, fearing his wrath.

Lilka came out and ran to the door. "Okay! Let's go!"

"Go where?" Quatre asked, absentmindedly.

Heero looked strangely at Quatre and shouldered him. "We're going to go see Sakura and Syaoran. They might know what's happening. Or at least, we could ask Sakura to bring Yukito with her."

"That's an even better idea than what I had in mind," Quistis said. "If Sakura doesn't know, then Yue must."

The four people left the house and started walking to Sakura's house. Syaoran, walking in the same direction, saw the party and waved at them. He approached them "What brings you here in a Saturday morning?"

"And what brings you?" Heero retorted back, as though he was expecting a much better greeting from Syaoran. "Don't you have soccer today or something?"

Syaoran blushed and shook his head. "I started to think about the mysterious incidents that were happening all this week and so I wanted to clarify things with Sakura-san."

Lilka glared at Heero's cold answer and smiled warmly at Syaoran. "Of course, that's what we thought too. Quistis and I wanted to know why these portals were appearing and people are getting transported in Tokyo."

Sakura, hearing her friends' voices from her window, opened it. She looked out to see the five people still talking about the problem. She sighed at their talkativeness and waved to them. "Are you guys coming in or are you going to stay there talking? Let me get the door."

The five people turned to Sakura and waved back. As the Card Mistress went about her way downstairs, she could hear Kero-chan coming down as well. It seems that the Appointer has been silent for quite a while. Even Sakura couldn't get him to talk about his quiet mood. The strangest thing of Kero-chan was that when Sakura tried to offer him dessert, he wouldn't take it.

As Sakura opened the door, the group bustled in, trying to get in the house first. It ended up with Lilka and Quatre stuck in the door, while Quistis was the only one who was inside. Heero and Syaoran looked impatiently at Lilka and Quatre. "How are we supposed to get in when those two are blocking our way?" Heero asked.

Syaoran shrugged. "Sakura-san can use her Little card and shrink them. Then she can turn them back to normal."

"Oh, no," Lilka stammered. "You are not going to shrink me. I'm out of here."

And with that, the Crest Sorceress jumped out and got in the house, leaving Quatre free of walking in. Syaoran smiled at his psychological work and also went in. Sakura shook her head. "If you came to my house as a group every morning, then I should go and buy a house with a bigger door."

Yukito came by and smiled. "Konnichiwa, Sakura-san! Minna, konnichiwa!"

"Yukito-san!" Sakura waved, brightening. "We need you right now!"

The fake form of Yue looked puzzled and so he walked up to them. Kero-chan looked at Yukito and transformed into Kerberos. Yukito, finding out what they needed him for, turned himself into Yue. The Moon Guardian looked at the group of people with his silver eyes.

"Is this about those mysterious portals appearing in Tokyo?" Yue asked.

Syaoran nodded and closed the door so passersby don't see the wonderful spectacle of the two guardians. However, a cloaked figure was standing behind a dark alley. His eyes glowed bright yellow, as if he was an assassin. As the wind blew, the figure's cloak blew to cover him and then the alley was empty.

While the others were talking, Tomoyo quickly looked up from her sewing. She looked puzzled, because she felt some kind of presence that just passed her mansion. Sighing and thinking that it probably was just her imagination, the girl went back to sewing a costume for Sakura. Surprisingly for her, the idea for this costume came to her the night before, when Tim was with them. The strange knocking at her door startled her.

Walking cautiously, she looked out at the windows to see who it had been. No one was there. "Strange, I thought I heard knocking. Maybe it was the trees."

The door crashed behind her and she turned around. There she saw a man with yellow eyes and red hair. Tomoyo stepped back in alarm and let the man go forward into her house. _Oh dear, help me, _she said to herself. Surprisingly, the man didn't turn towards Tomoyo and he kept walking towards the center of her house. It was as if he didn't even know she was there, like a great power has control over him.

Reaching for her cellular phone, Tomoyo quickly dialed Duo's number. "Come on, pick up. Hello, Duo? _Please help!_"

Duo, half asleep, lazily picked up the phone. When he heard the urgent voice of his beloved, his eyes snapped open. Quickly putting a new shirt on, he ran out of his apartment and into Tomoyo's yard. Duo slammed the door open and saw that Tomoyo was trying to walk as slowly as possible away from the mysterious stranger, who still looked entranced by something. He kept walking straight towards Tomoyo's wall and amazingly went right through it. Tomoyo turned to Duo, her face pale. "He just knocked the door down and came into the mansion. I don't know what he wants here."

"I think you should call someone who is likely to know about situations like this," Duo suggested, completely blank. "Did he hurt you?"

Tomoyo shook her head and reached for her phone. She dialed Sakura's number, and Sakura picked up. "Hello? Tomoyo? Hi! What is it? Listen, most of us are here, so, we'll be there in a flash. Bye."

Within a few minutes, Sakura and the people who visited her arrived in the front door. Lilka went in and looked around. "What's the problem? I don't see anything wrong."

Duo pointed to the wall. Tomoyo explained to the party what had happened and sat down. "I could tell you now, he gave me quite a scare. I almost screamed my lights out, but I didn't think he even saw me."

Yue examined the wall, and he was amazed to find that it produced a light glow. He beckoned to Lilka and the sorceress went to inspect the wall as well. She shook her head. "It looks like a warp point. Do you think we could warp through it?"

"Beats me," Duo said, examining the wall himself. He touched it, and was suddenly sucked in. Tomoyo cried out in surprise.

"Tomoyo, are you okay?" Sakura asked, concerned.

The singer shook her head. She suddenly stood up and raced towards her bedroom. Coming back a few seconds later, everyone saw her holding a suitcase. She smiled and opened it up. Out came a video camera, and everyone fell to the floor. Syaoran was eyeing her suspiciously. "You don't happen to have costumes with you, do you?"

Tomoyo laughed. "Of course I do! I have one for everyone! Come on! Put them on! I have the names on the costumes for each of you. This is great! (at this point, she is getting starry eyed and laughing to herself) Not only can I take a video of everyone, I can also tape Sakura-chan's adventures once again!"

Sakura looked like she was going to run out of the house, if not for Heero and Quatre restraining her. Tomoyo grinned evilly and handed the two remaining gundam pilots their costumes. Heero looked disgusted, but after seeing Quistis's glare, he left with Quatre to the dressing room and began to change. Everyone else received their costumes and grumbled, while walking to a secluded place where they could change.

As everyone came back, Tomoyo, turned her camera on and began to tape everyone. "Kawaii!! This is great! Come on! Let's go and save Duo-kun!"

"Don't tell me you're coming too!" Lilka exclaimed, a bit surprised.

The singer looked at Lilka. "Of course I'm coming! I have to go and get Duo-kun, you know! What are you guys waiting for? Let's go!"

As everyone grumbled again, one by one, they walked into the portal and were sucked in. Sakura and Tomoyo were the last ones to go in. The two held their breaths as they entered the portal. White light surrounded them and they were transported to a countryside where a small village could be seen from a distance.

Looking around, Sakura was puzzled. "I don't see anyone here. Where is everyone?"

"Oh no," Tomoyo cried out, a bit distressed, "Now I can't tape their every move! And I made them costumes!"

Sakura sweatdropped. "Tomoyo-san, we have bigger problems than that. We have to find them!"

Tomoyo nodded, turning her video camera off. "Oh, why not. Since there's no action, just yet, I'll just keep the camera idle for a while."

The Card Mistress sighed with relief. Finally, some peace from publicity.

The two sorcerers appeared in the front of Tomoyo's mansion. Thom turned to his friend. "Don't you think manipulating him was too much? You could've just had the portal open and Tomoyo would have gone and told her friends. But a swordsman?"

"Relax, Thom," the man smiled, "It's not like he was going to kill her. Don't worry. Besides, you haven't been doing your job as greatly as I am."

"Yes I have!" the sorcerer yelled, angered, "Why do you think they're thinking quickly now? And haven't you felt their growing powers together?"

Thom was answered with a nod, as well as a mischievous smile. "Yes, well, but how about having them separated?"


End file.
